Valour Guardians 2: Sorceress At Magic School
by typhoonboom08
Summary: Sequal to Valour Guardians 1. Dark forces are being set free and are attacking a school of wizards in search for the Ultimate Book of Spells. Gwen and the Guardians must protect the school and the book or the greatest supreme dark wizard will be set free.
1. Namine's Run in

**Well, here's my third story. just so everyone knows, this story should technically be classiffied as a crossover between Ben 10 and UBOS, Ultimate Book Of Spells, so to fully understand what's going on, i recommmend finding a couple of episodes of UBOS on the net, or at least going to wiki. You can read the story without doing that though, i'm trying to ensure that you don't get confused by anything i write. The show's basically a cartoon version of Harry Potter anyway. well, enjoy**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the plot

**Namine's Run-in**

Deep within America's country land, away from the hustling, modern cities, the morning sun shined warmly over a small, old fashioned town.

The buildings were mostly made of wood, allowing the town to blend in with the natural fields around it. There was a road, but few cars drove around, most people preferring bikes or walking, or the train if they were going out of town. The place used electricity, but again, it was only lightly used outside the home, just in old fashioned street lamps. The only thing that looked modern was a prestigious school at the edge of town. All in all, it was a nice place to live, but not the kind of place most people would go on vacation too.

Namine however, was drawn to it. The place was completely different to what the world usually had to offer and being the beauty loving artist that she was, she just had to check it out.

A grin crossed her face as she walked through the streets, her sketch book and a pencil in hand. Stopping in the middle of a street filled with stores, she stared up at the signs, all of them made by hand.

"Now this is my kind of place." She said to herself, putting more detail into her sketch before looking around again, making sure she'd gotten all the details and marked each part of her drawing with the right colour symbol for later.

She was about to move on when a pleasant aroma wafted her senses. Her stomach grumbled in desire as she followed it to a bakery.

"So that's the smell of freshly cooked bread." She noted, entering the shop.

"Hello there young lady." A middle-aged man said, giving her a friendly smile. "It's not often a new face shows up here, especially one so young. Are you from the school?"

"No sir, I'm just visiting the town. When I heard about this place, I had to check it out." Namine replied with a warm grin of her own, pulling out her purse.

"Really, why's that?" He asked curiously. "This is an old fashioned, peaceful place. Not much here that really says 'tourist attraction'."

"That's what attracted me." Namine answered, grabbing a few bagels. "I'm an artist. I spend most of my free time going to unusual places and drawing what I find. This town is perfect for what drawing, once you take out the giant building on the edge." She added, showing the man her sketch while she pulled out a few dollars.

"You definitely have talent." The man said, a little surprised by the level of detail the unfinished sketch possessed. "But what about school, or your parents?" He asked, taking the money and bagging her purchase.

"Don't you watch the news?" Namine asked, frowning confusedly.

"No, most people around here don't worry about it. We're so secluded, nothing that goes on in the rest of the world bothers us much." He answered. "Why, are you a run away or something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no." Namine replied with a smile, shaking her head. "It's just that usually when I'm in inhabited areas, everyone recognises me. Now I know why everyone else has let me be. It feels nice to be able to blend in for once."

"So why are you on TV, and how does it tie in with my question?" The man asked, getting more confused.

"If you don't pay attention to the outside world, then you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Namine responded. "But putting it in basic terms, you could call me a good Samaritan. My friends and I go around helping people a lot."

"Oh, ok." The man said unsurely, still not exactly following, but not wanting to invade her privacy.

"Here, I'll give you an example." Namine smiled understandingly. Reaching out to a small burn on his wrist, she smiled amusedly as he jumped in fear. "It's ok. Look at your wrist."

Not sure what was going on, he did as she said and his eyes widened even further, if it were possible, in amazement. The burn was completely gone.

"What? But how…?" He asked, unable to finish his sentence.

"My friends and I have abilities. One of mine is the ability to heal." Namine answered, grabbing all of her stuff and heading to the door. "Thank you for the food sir, and have a good day." She added before opening the door.

"Yeah, you too." He said slowly, looking at her with amazement.

* * *

Namine hummed happily to herself as she left another shop fill with art supplies. She'd been running low on few paint colours and couldn't resist buying a an easel and a few canvases. Not feeling like carrying the larger item around the town, she opened a portal to her room on Valour's Light in the walkway between the art shop and it's neighbour, so as to avoid catching the people's eyes.

"Now let's see what else I can find." She muttered to herself, heading down the street. Turning a corner, she found that she was approaching the outskirts of the town and scowled at the large, business-like building sitting right in front of her.

"That thing ruins the town's appearance." choosing to ignore that direction, she turned to find another street. However, just as she finished turning, she noticed the building flicker through the corner of her eye.

"What the?" Whipping back around, her widened eyes focused on the building again. This time however, she reached out to it mentally with her telepathic abilities. She was utterly amazed by the sight before her. The building disappeared from her view, and in it's place was an ancient looking, stone castle. However, despite the fact that it was clearly centuries old by design, it looked completely untouched by time.

"That's pretty strong magic." She commented, observing the high, castle walls and the enormous amount of land they surrounded. "Not even Gwen could do something that big." Needless to say, her curious and artistic mind wouldn't ignore such a place and she headed straight for it, a look of childlike wonder planted on her face.

* * *

By the time that she was halfway to the castle, Namine had already completed half of another sketch, her sharp eyes taking in the smallest details she could see on the structure and comparing it to what she'd drawn.

"Ok, so the archway at the gate is a bit more detailed. It almost looks like a face." She mused, her voice changing from focused to light hearted as she altered her drawing. She was so engrossed in her work, it wasn't until her telepathy sensed up a dark presence that she became aware of the panicked cries around her.

"Huh?" Snapping her head up, her eyes widened in slight fear as a two headed dragon soared through the sky before her.

Namine knew the instant that she saw it that it wasn't one of Jake's kind, or even Dojo's, the size shifting dragon of the Xiaolin Temple. Aside from having two heads, it was much bigger then the American Dragon and it's body shape looked more like a traditional, European dragon, as opposed to the traits of their Asia counterparts. To finish it of, it had blue scales covering most of it's body, with a creamy-yellow underbelly, leading up the front of it's necks to it's evidential heads.

"I can't believe we're finally on the surface world." The skinnier, rattish shaped head cheered in a high pitched, whiny voice.

"I know. It feels great to be under the sun." The chubbier head responded, his voice much deeper and earthy. "Now enough talk, we have a job to do for Master Zarlak."

"I know, you don't need to remind me." The first head snapped angrily before turning to the town below him. "How about we start like this?"

With that, he took a deep breath blew a flamethrower at the nearest house.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"MOVE! GET AWAY!"

"MUMMY!"

"This is bad." Namine stated, leaping behind a stone wall. Pulling out her communicator, she quickly activated the main line. "Guys, I need help. I've got a two headed dragon burning down the town. Is anyone listening?"

"I'm here, Jake and I are in Chicago and are starting up the jet now. We'll be there shortly." Gwen responded as her face appeared on screen, the humming of the jet activating echoing behind her.

"Just be quick, I can't take on Jake, much less this flying lizard." Namine replied before putting her communicator away. Looking up, her eyes widened as far as they could as a blast of flame shot straight down at a teenage boy. Not wasting any time, Namine leapt to her feet and raced towards him, knocking him to the ground, out of the way mere seconds before the flames would have hit him.

"Are you ok?" She asked, quickly surveying him for any sign of fire.

"Y-yeah." He stuttered, staring wildly at the dragon.

"Then get out of here." Namine responded, pulling him back to his feet and pushing him on his way. As he left, Namine pulled out her purple handled daggers from her shorts' pockets and aimed for the flying beats.

"Wait." She muttered softly and nervously, eyeing it warily as it descended, aiming for a building behind her. "You can do this Namine."

Just as it was about to fly over her, she threw a dagger and made a mental note to thank Kim for the targeting lessons as it sunk right into the middle of the dragon's front, right paw, eliciting pained screams from both heads.

"ARGH! Who dares attack us?" The skinnier head screamed as the dragon pulled the blade out.

"That girl right there." The other snarled, glaring heatedly at Namine. "Let's get her."

"Yeah, we'll teach her to hurt us."

Namine shook slightly as the dragon dived right at her. However, despite her fear, she didn't back down. Frowning in concentration, she focused on the beast's mind, only slightly surprised when she found two.

"Lunch t-AARRGGHH!" The skinnier head's cocky smirk twisted into a look of agony as it and it's counterpart screamed, a paw covering each head in an attempt to block the pain. Unable to concentrate, they crashed into the ground with a thunderous bang, sending tremors through the ground.

"Mmm!" Namine groaned tiredly, rubbing her temples. Attacking minds wasn't something she was used to doing and attacking two at once proved to be a taxing experience for the inexperienced, young lady. "Please let that last a while."

"Augh, that was painful." The deeper voice whined as he rose his head, causing Namine to stiffen.

"You said it. What happened?" The other asked, staring stupidly around the area.

"I happened." Namine stated firmly, trying conveying an air of power, despite her energy drain. "And unless you want to go through it again, you'll flap your overgrown wings back to wherever you came from!"

"You threaten us?" The skinnier head asked in disbelief. "We can crush you with one fist and you think that you can take us on?"

"Better yet, let's just turn her into ash." The other sneered darkly. A split second later, he opened his mouth and released a powerful stream of fire right at the blond.

There was no time to dodge and Namine knew it. Terrified, she closed her eyes tight and raised her hands to her face, instinctively trying to protect herself as she waited for the immense heat and pain.

However, it never came. Instead, the light managing to get past her closed eyes dulled and the air cooled. Confused, Namine opened her eyes to find Gwen before her, her arms out, holding up a blue, magical dome around them.

"Gwen! Talk about perfect timing." Namine smiled in relief.

"Really, I thought I cut it a little close." Gwen responded jokingly before turning a heated glare at the magical reptile before her. "How dare you try to incinerate my friend, you two headed, overgrown gecko!"

"Hey, who are you calling a gecko?" The skinnier head cried indignantly.

"Yeah! Snerrot, what's a gecko?" The other head asked confusedly.

"Um, I don't know." The skinnier head, Snerrot replied stupidly, scratching his head.

"Oh man, these guys are making me ashamed to call myself a dragon." The two headed dragon turned to look behind itself just in time to see a red blur swoop down, eliciting a scream from both heads as the red dragon's right hand slashed deeply into it's blue scales as it passed, landing next to the girls.

"Ow, ow, ow, that hurt!" Snerrot whined, tears falling down his face. "Rowce, let's get him."

"Yeah, make him pay." Rowce growled, glaring down at the American Dragon.

"Just try to catch me." Jake grinned, taking off into the air.

Rowce and Snerrot quickly took after him, both shooting flames, only for Jake to dodge them effortlessly.

"You guys couldn't hit a mountain." Jake sneered, performing a loop, dodging another flamethrower and heading back down. "Let me show you how a dragon really does it." Jake smirked as he reached his adversary's heads and slugged each one with his tail, leaving them dazed. As he passed the rest of their body, he righted himself from his dive and shot his own stream of fire, right at the beast's left wing.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Many people watching in the distance had to cover their ears from the dual ear-splitting screams pierced the air of the entire town, growing louder as the giant, blue reptile fell from the sky.

"Gwen, don't let it damage the town." Namine cried, watching in panic as the dragon fell. "It's damaged enough already."

"Ok, saving the town's our job anyway." Gwen responded, raising her glowing, blue hands. "Creatura shrink!"

A blue glow, exactly the same as the one covering the sorceress' hands, encased the beast as it plummeted. The magical glow quickly got brighter and brighter, until the only way of knowing that the dragon was still there was by the screams. When the magic finally ran it's course, it exploded outward, dropping two, small creatures, one green and skinny, the other blue and chubby, on the ground with a thud.

"Ok, the spell was only supposed to shrink it, but this works too." Gwen stated, a little confused as she looked them over. They looked like small dragons from the shoulders down, but their heads seemed to be a cross between a dragon and a rat, emphasised by the whiskers at the end of their pointed faces.

"Um, Rowce, I think we're in trouble." Snerrot said whimperingly as he and his blue comrade pulled themselves to their feet, only to find the three Guardians towering over them, glaring at the devious creatures.

"What do we do Snerrot?" Rowce whimpered, shaking under the glares and staring fearfully at Gwen's glowing hands and the smoke coming from Jake's mouth.

"Sleep." Namine answered before Snerrot could. Scrunching up her face in concentration as she raised her palms towards their faces, she accessed their minds again. A moment later, the duo felt their eyelids become heavy and fell asleep, snoring before they even hit the ground.

"Well, that was fun." Jake stated, changing back to his human form. "Now what should we do with-"

"Using magic in front of Morties?" Jumping in shock at the outraged, strict sounding voice, the trio turned to find a chubby woman with red hair and glasses staring at them in anger and disbelief.


	2. The Magic Behind The Illusion

**The Magic Behind The Illusion**

The trio stared confusedly at the chubby woman before them. She looked thoroughly outraged with them, yet the Guardians couldn't really tell why.

"Um, can we help you miss?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How could you three be so irresponsible to use magic in a Mortie filled area. And you weren't even trying to conceal it." She scolded, glaring with sharp eyes. Normal people would be very intimidated by that stare, however, the Guardians had faced too much it to have any affect on them.

"We do it all the time. Everyone knows about us, why try to conceal our actions?" Jake responded confusedly, earning an astounded gasp from the woman before them.

"WHAT?" She shrieked, forcing all of them to cover their ears. "You've exposed magic to all of the Morties? Oh wait until the wizard high council hears about this. The punishment for witches and wizards for such a thing will be extreme."

"What? Witches? Wizards?" Gwen asked, frowning.

"We're not witches or wizards." Jake stated indignantly. "We never use wands or anything. I'm the American Dragon, from the Dragon Order."

"I'm a sorceress." Gwen said next, making her hand glow blue.

"And I'm not sure what I classify as, I have the power to heal and telepathy. A couple of the abilities of light magic." Namine finished, following Gwen's lead and making her hand glow white.

"What's this?" The woman asked, her anger replaced by a perplexed look. "A dragon that can turn into a human and a true sorceress? I never knew such beings truly existed."

"What? Lady, we're world famous. We're three of the nine Valour Guardians that stopped Organisation 13. How could you not have heard of us?" Jake asked in disbelief.

"Organisation 13 were the leaders of the white creatures that attacked about six weeks back." Namine added. Seeing the confused look on the woman's face and smiling as a look of understanding replaced it. "Guys, the people of this place are so secluded from the rest of the world, they don't usually bother learning what's going on in the rest of the world. Not one person in town knew who I was. And if I remember what Gwen's books said, wizards usually don't bother with the mortal realm's current even anyway, so they wouldn't know about the source of the Nobodies, or why they left."

"The idea that the Morties knew the answer to where the white creatures went never crossed our minds." The woman mumbled to herself, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Well, since then, everyone knows about magic. After that day, it was impossible to cover up it's existence." Jake continued with a grin. "And the nine of us that teamed up to defeat the Organisation have been working together and saving the world ever since."

"But enough on that." Gwen interrupted. "We need to get back to the matter at hand. Where did these two come from and what do we do with them?"

"I saw them rise from behind the castle walls." Namine said.

"What castle?" Jake asked in bewilderment, looking left to right. "I don't see any castle."

"You can see through the veil at such a distance?" The woman asked, astounded.

"Light mental magic is very useful." Namine grinned before pointing the giant building. "That modern-looking building is an illusion. It's hiding a castle."

"Which happens to be Vonderland, a school for witchlings and junior wizards." The woman stated, starting to recover from her shock. "I am the headmistress, Miss Crystalgazer. The two headed dragon, which was apparently two ratfinkles, came through a magic portal. Normally, they're only found in the underworld. Only powerful dark magic would bring them to the surface."

"Then maybe we should check this out." Gwen stated. Her eyes glowed blue as she looked up at the castle with a look of wonder on her face, her magic allowing her to see through the illusion. "I would love to go and see this school anyway. Can you imagine all the knowledge and history such a place must contain? The place must be simply amazing."

"You are welcome to see the school. You all have quite amazing gifts that I would love to learn more about and I must know what exactly has changed in the Mortie world." Miss Crystalgazer said, waving towards the school. "After all, the Wizard High Council must be made aware of such dramatic changes."

"Then you won't mind if I tag along?" A voice called from behind them. Caught off guard, Miss Crystalgazer whipped, wand in hand before Namine grinned reassuringly, grabbing her wrist and gently lowering it.

"Hey Raimundo, what are you doing here?" Jake asked with a grin, bumping fists with Rai as he dropped from the sky.

"I saw the SOS on my communicator and decided to drop in on the way back to the temple. A Shang Gong Wu activated not far from here." Rai replied, waving to the girls.

"Miss Crystalgazer, this is Raimundo." Namine introduced her. "He's a Xiaolin Dragon at the Wudai Warrior level and one of our team mates."

"Ah, the legendary Xiaolin Dragons, an Order created fifteen hundred years ago by Grand Master Dashi. I have heard stories of their magical art. I take it you are a dragon of the wind element?"

"Got it in one ma'am." Rai grinned. "So shall we be on our way? And maybe someone can catch me up during the walk?"

Nodding, the group took off, dragging the ratfinkles behind them as they headed towards the castle.

* * *

Behind the castle walls, a golden flash of light heralded to appearance of a leather-bound book with a face on it behind a cluster of trees. The floating tome quickly opened itself and released another gale of golden magic in the form of a vortex, bringing with it, three young, screaming teenagers.

The first to hit the ground was a short boy with red hair and frightened, blue eyes. He was clad casually in in blue jeans and a yellow shirt, with a white, open shirt over the top. The second was again male. This one however, had blond hair, clearly inhuman, pointed ears and green eyes alight with excitement. He wore normal, blue shorts and a green hoody, emblazoned with lighter green stars. The final teen to fall on the pile was a girl with purple hair, tied in a ponytail, and light, aqua eyes. The top half of her outfit looked like a purple version of a classical witch's attire, while the lower half consisted of a short skirt with black shorts underneath and black boots.

"You did well today children. The amulet of Aphrodite is a wondrous source of magic." The floating book congratulated proudly, beaming down at the groaning children.

"That's great Ubos. Now would you guys get off of me?" The red head asked irritably, wincing at the increasing pressure on the small of his back.

"Sorry Verne." The girl apologised sheepishly, pulling herself to her feet. "So where do you think we should leave this for the adults to find?" She asked, pulling the retrieved jewel out of her back pack.

"Does anyone else think getting that thing was a little too easy?" Verne asked, accepting the offered hand from the blond boy. "We basically just walked right in and took it. Usually, Zarlak will at least send his ratfinkles."

"Aww, they probably just saw us and ran for the hills." The blond gloated, holding his head high.

"Oh, you mean like they did every other time, Gus?" Verne asked sarcastically.

"Now, now, let's just find a place for the amulet." The girl intervened. "The longer we're holding it, the more likely it is that we'll be found out."

"Good point Cassandra." Ubos nodded. He was about to say more when the excited muttering of passing students forced him to jump into Cassie's back pack.

"Can you believe it, a giant, two headed dragon, appearing out of our school." A boy in an orange robe said excitedly.

"Yeah, only to attack the town. I can't believe how quickly he was taken down though. I didn't think Miss Crystalgazer was that powerful." A girl in a blue robe replied in amazement.

"Well, it had to be her. All the other teachers stayed at the school, so unless there actually wizards willing to mix with the Morties…"

"A two headed dragon appeared at the school and attacked the Morties?" Cassie gasped, looking panicked. "That sounds like-"

"No way, impossible. How could they get to the surface?" Gus interrupted, just as worried.

"It would explain why they didn't show up on our last journey." Verne stated, paling. "And Zarlak wouldn't care too much about the amulet if he figured out a way to get his minions up here."

"He could just take it back." Ubos agreed, floating just enough to get his face out of the back pack. "We'd better investigate."

* * *

"Welcome back Miss Crystalgazer. All went well I trust?"

"Did that archway just talk?" Rai gaped, his jaw dropping as he stared at the castle entrance.

"Yes, at Vonderland, anything with a face is alive." Miss Crystalgazer responded before turning back to the living structure. "Yes, our young guests here took care of the problem quite nicely."

"Well then, great job young ones, and welcome to Vonderland." The arch boomed, smiling down at the group. Smiling back up with slight amazement, the group continued on it's way.

Just as they entered the courtyard, the front doors exploded open and student and teachers of all shapes and sizes poured out, heading straight towards their headmistress.

"Miss Crystalgazer, what happened?"

"Did you slay the dragon?"

"Where is it now?"

"Calm yourselves children!" Miss Crystalgazer called, trying to quiet everyone down. Unnoticed by all, the three students and their talking book joined the crowd.

"I never thought Miss Crystalgazer would be able to take on a dragon as quickly as everyone's saying." Gus said softly before frowning at the people behind her, staring around in wonder. "Hey who are they? They look like Morties."

"The red head doesn't." Cassie commented, checking out the blue cape over her clothes. "Well, sort of a mix."

"Hmm, I can sense powerful magic coming from all four of them." Ubos stated, frowning slightly. "They're not wizards. Each one has a very different type of energy. The blond girl in particular is very intriguing. Her power radiates with light."

"NO WAY!" Verne shouted, his eyes alight with excitement and a huge smile on his face, catching the attention of everyone in the courtyard as he ran straight through to the front of the crowd. "The Valour Guardians! I can't believe they're here. Are the other five here too?" He asked quickly, earning confused looks and grunts from everyone else.

"Verne, you know them?" Cassie asked as she and Gus reached him, raising a confused eyebrow. "I've never heard of any Valour Guardians. And trust me, if they were big in the magical world, I'd know."

"That's because the Valour Guardians aren't from the magical world. Not entirely anyway." Verne responded, his eyes never leaving the young heroes before him. "The Valour Guardians are nine, teenage heroes who protect the planet, each one having their own origins and abilities. They're known throughout the entire Mortie world for saving the entire planet from the white creatures that attacked and various other deeds since. Some were even known world wide as heroes before then, though they didn't meet until the invasion."

"Why would you let a bunch of Morties in here?" A boy with black hair and a red shirt snarled, looking down his nose at the Guardians. "This is no place for wizard wannabes."

"Even Mortie heroes are still nothing more then Morties." A girl, who was obviously the boy's twin agreed, sneering openly.

"Hey, back off you twits. Just one of them can wipe the floor with your combined power." Verne glared, clenching his fists. "You're looking at four of the most power teens on the planet. Wudai Warrior has power over the wind. He can even create tornados. In addition, he's also an amazing martial artist and has a number of magical items at his disposal." He stated, pointing to a smug Rai. "Namine is a being of pure light. She has the power to heal and telepathy." He said next, his hand moving towards the modestly grinning blond. "The American Dragon is from the Dragon Order, a breed that have human forms and are capable of using certain forms of magic, like duplication, while in them." He said next, pointing to the beaming Asian boy. "And Lucky girl's a sorceress!" He finished, causing the entire school to gasp, bringing a confused look to Gwen's face in turn.

"A sorceress? At her age? Get real." The female twin, Lucretia, scoffed, maintaining her look of superiority. "No little witchling has ever been named a sorceress."

"She's not that kind of sorceress." Verne snapped before anyone else could say anything. "Her powers are different from ours. She never needs a wand and is easily as powerful as any supreme wizard. She's probably the most powerful of all of the Guardians here!"

"The only competition for that statement being Wudai Warrior." Jake said cheerfully, interrupting the fight. "But it's not really worth arguing over."

"And you are giving our school a bad name." Miss Crystalgazer scolded sharply, earning nervous apologies from all three involved. "And let me assure you all that they are powerful. They are the ones who stopped the dragon. Or rather-"

"Ratfinkles?" Gus cried in panic as he recognised just who they were talking about, interrupting the headmistress. "How are they here? They're all supposed to be in the centre of the Earth."

"I do not know Gus, but I am going to look into it as soon as I send them back down there." Miss Crystalgazer answered, levitating the dark creatures in a blue, magical net connected to her wand. "Now, our guests, who need no introduction, thanks to Verne, are here to see the school and inform me of all the changes in the Mortie world in relation to their knowledge of magic. I expect you all to be on your best behaviour and give them space to breathe while they're here." She said, giving a few students pointed looks. "Now that that's been said, off you all go."

The students quickly did as they were told and went off about their business, though a few did continue to stare at the Guardians in wonder or curiosity. Verne was easily the most obvious of them, shaking with excitement.

"Yo Verne, come on." Gus called impatiently, grabbing the star struck red head by the shoulders and practically dragging him away, much to the amusement of the Guardians.

"I do apologise about the way the students behaved." Miss Crystalgazer said, turning to the Guardians as the students disappeared. "Some of our students have superiority complexes over non-wizards."

"No big ma'am, you get the same type of people in every school." Jake said casually, brushing it off. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I really want to check this place out. See how it compares to the home of the Dragon Order."

"Count me in, I've always wanted to check out a castle." Rai beamed, unable to stay still.

"And I really want to sketch the whole thing." Namine grinned, her fingers itching for her pencils.

"You are welcome to of course, but I really would like to have our conversation as soon as possible." Miss Crystalgazer responded, turning her eyes from the teens to the captives. "After dealing with these two of course."

"Well then, how about you send them wherever they need to go and I'll tell you everything you want to know? While on a tour of the interior would be nice." Gwen suggested before her eyes moved towards the castle, full of intrigue and excitement.

"I believe that is acceptable." Miss Crystalgazer nodded with a small smile. "And before you all go off on your own ways, if you have any questions at all, just find me or one of the teachers. We'll all be happy to answer anything."

"Ok, thanks. Now to fly." Rai grinned. Running two steps, he leapt into the air and soared straight towards to highest point of the castle, amazing everyone who could see him.

"Hey show off, wait for me. Wings of the dragon!" Jake called, summoning his wings with a burst of flames before taking to the air after the wind wielder, amazing the students even more.

"Who's he calling a show off?" Gwen asked, rolling her eyes, though her tone was conveyed nothing but amusement. Namine brought her hand to her mouth and giggled in response.

"Boys will be boys Gwen. I'll see you later." Opening her sketch book, she pulled out a pencil and took off, intent on finishing her sketch. Gwen just shook her head and smiled as Miss Crystalgazer led the way into the castle.


	3. Meetings and Grudges

**Meetings and Grudges**

"I can't believe I actually got to see four of the world's greatest heroes." Verne said excitedly, causing the other two to roll their eyes. He hadn't stopped since he was dragged away and his fan boy routine was getting old.

"Verne, enough already. We have more important things to worry about then a few Mortie world heroes. Like how Rowce and Snerrot got to the surface." Cassie snapped irritably, whipping around and right into the suddenly nervous boy's face.

"Uh, ok, whatever you say." Verne stuttered, taking a few steps back.

"Now Cassandra, there is no need for that temperament." Ubos scolded, flying out of her back pack as they entered Verne and Gus's dorm.

"Yeah, well sorry, but I am sick of hearing about Mortie's little heroes." Cassie retorted, crossing her arms and turning her back to the others. "I doubt their half of what Verne makes them out to be anyway."

"What? They've saved the world repeatedly!" Verne cried indignantly, clenching his fists.

"That says more about their enemies then it does about them." Cassie snapped back, whipping back around with a glare. "Weak enemies can be taken down by weak heroes. I highly doubt they'd last two minutes against someone like Zarlak."

"They can and have!" Verne yelled, just as angry as Cassie. "Ever heard of the Fright Knight? Or the demon, Mala Mala Jong? I know you've heard of the Huntsclan. Those are the sort of enemies they face."

"Whoa, guys, times out." Gus demanded, pushing the warring friends apart. "If you really want to settle this, find some proof for your opinion later. Right now, we need to worry about the fact that Zarlak's forces made it to the surface."

"Which means, he may be close to doing the same." Ubos agreed.

"But how could he? He was hit with like, the most powerful banishment spell, wasn't he?" Verne asked, letting the argument slide.

"True, but he has stolen so much magic from both the surface world and the centre of the Earth, he may have found finally gained the power to break the seal. Or a least enough to release his servants." Ubos answered worriedly. "Either way, it is a great problem. You three may not be enough to stop this."

"Then it's a good thing we have a school full of witches and wizards to hold the fort for the High Wizard Council should anything happen." Gus responded.

"No, your fellow students won't likely be able to do much at all." Ubos responded, moving like a person shaking their head. "They are too young and lack the experience in actual combat that the three of you possess. If were only one or two dark creatures, they would be fine. However, the ratfinkles were just a test for Zarlak and a warm-up for us. Next time, Zarlak will ensure an army rises to the surface, mark my words."

"So… what do we do?" Verne gulped, growing more and more panicked.

"Searching for dark activity." Cassie stated, pulling out her scootzoomer and opening the window with a wave of her blue glowing hand. Not waiting for the others to rebuff her plan, she flew off, forcing the others to jump for safety.

"Man, what is her deal?" Verne growled, revealing himself from behind his bed.

"Jealousy can make even the best of us turn foul at times." Ubos stated wisely, frowning at the purple speck in the sky.

"What? Jealous? Of what?" Verne asked in disbelief. "She was fine half an hour ago."

"Think about it Verne." Gus cried exasperatedly. "She wants to be a supreme sorceress. No one under fifty has every made it to that level and neither has any witch in her family. And now, your gushing over those Valour Guardian guys, and the one you gave the most attention to was a teenage girl you called a powerful sorceress. Add that to the line about them being the world's greatest heroes, which means that they're better then the three of us…"

"Oh." Verne sighed, feeling a little guilty about what he'd unintentionally did. "Maybe I shouldn't have gone on about the Guardians so much. But I can help it." He added, moving to activate his computer. "They're the kind of people I've been dreaming of emulating. I mean, look at them." Verne stated as news clips played on his screen. "They're powerful, brave and self sacrificing. Everything a hero should be. He finished as the screen changed to a clip showing Gohan knocking Nappa away with a thunderous kick.

"I can see your point Verne, but Cassie-"

"Great heavens, a Keyblade bearer." Ubos interrupted with a shout, flying right to the screen as the clip changed to Roxas fighting Jack-bots. "And he has two? That's never happened in all of known history. Just how strong a heart does this boy possess?"

"Uh, come again?" Gus asked, scratching his head confusedly.

"He's talking about the Key of Destiny and his weapons, the Keyblades. Magical items that can only be wielded by their chosen bearer. They say you have to have a strong heart to be chosen by a Keyblade and that they are the most powerful magical weapons in existence. Greater then even Excalibur."

"Truly amazing. I must learn more about these children. But now is not the time." Ubos replied, pulling the conversation back on topic. "We should let Cassandra cool her head. Meanwhile, we shall try to protect the entrances to the centre of the Earth from dark magic."

* * *

"During the fight, the media approached the castle and recorded it for the whole world to see, so the world knew exactly who we were. There's no way that we could have avoided the situation, so we told them everything about us. It didn't matter really by that point, the Nobodies' assault flushed most of the hidden worlds out into the open anyway." Gwen finished as she looked over the living portraits decorating the hallway.

"I had no idea that battle had been so big. So even wizards are exposed now?" Miss Crystalgazer asked, earning a nod from Gwen.

"That's right. The American Dragon's dealt with a few before. And one fought in the open during the invasion." She responded as the headmistress opened the large door before them.

"Oh wow." Gwen's eyes lit up in child-like wonder as she stared around a room the sized of her house, filled with books.

"This is the school library. It contains all of the wizarding world's written history, information on all the magical creatures ever discovered and books containing an enormous variety of spells, potions, magical artefacts and legends." Miss Crystalgazer stated with pride, smiling at the Christmas-has-come-early look on her companion's face. "Something tells me that you'd like to stay here for a while, yes?"

"Yes, I'd love that. This place is a sorcerer's dream." Gwen responded excited, itching to grab a book. "I wonder if our magic is similar enough for me to cast some wizard type spells. I should at least be able to make your potions. And all the magical items I could learn about."

"Go ahead and take your time my dear." Miss Crystalgazer said amusedly, waving towards the nearest bookshelf. "Just call the librarian if you need anything. I'll see you later." Gwen just managed to squeal a quick thank you before practically diving at the nearest bookshelf, leaving the headmistress chuckling as she left the room.

* * *

Laughter echoed throughout the sky as Raimundo and Jake soared, admiring the place from a bird's eye view and getting a thrill out of watching the magical pranks and backfiring spells occurring throughout the place.

"This is better than cable." Rai chuckled as a student, the male twin from before, Borgia unsurprisingly, attempted to show off and only managed to turn his nose into a tomato.

"I'll say." Jake laughed, before turning to the rest of the school grounds. "Eye of the dragon!" His eyes turned red as his vision enhanced to the point where it rivalled an eagle's, allowing him to get a far more detailed view of the school.

"It's amazing how many magical creatures are here. And it's even more surprising how many of them can learn wizardry." He muttered, watching a pair of fairies pulling out wands and levitating rocks.

"I'd say that there's been a lot of crossbreeding in this strangely disconnected part of the magical world." Rai shrugged, turning away from his friend as a purple haired witch shot past him at high speed on what he'd learned were scootzoomers. Was it his imagination, or did she glare at him?

"Dude, that's disgusting. Don't put those visions in my head." Jake cried, his face scrunched up, as if he'd bitten a lemon.

"Sorry Jake." Rai apologised, giving Jake an amused grin before looking down at what looked like a stadium. "Hey, it looks like some sort of game is about to start. What do ya say we check out the wizard's version of entertainment?"

"Sound's like a good idea." Jake grinned, manoeuvring himself into a dive, Rai only a second behind him.

* * *

Like her friends, Namine couldn't seem to get enough of the school either. The place was filled with so many wonders just in it's structure and decorations alone, that it could capture her artistic eye for months. Add all the decorations and nearly endless numbers of unique individuals roaming the castle, and she was set for life. Everywhere she looked, there was something new and amazing to learn about and draw.

"The plants should wrap around the building a little higher there. And don't forget the flowers." She muttered to herself happily, editing her second sketch of the castle. Adding a few final touches, she dropped her pencil and smiled widely at her masterpiece, filled with pride at the near-perfect 2D version of the school.

"Now, what to draw next?" She wondered, looking around the grounds. Her eyes lit up as they found the pond, surrounded by a number of lush plants. "Perfect."

Gathering her things, she stood up and headed off towards the far side of the pond, so as to get the castle in the sketch, getting a number of curious looks from the students she past, returning them with some of her own as she came across the different species wondering about.

"Wow, what I wouldn't give for another me right now." She grinned to herself.

Reaching her destination, she pulled out her supplies and settled herself down just as a giant sea serpent burst out of the water, eliciting a shocked, but amazed gasp to fall from Namine's lips.

"Oh wow. He is so going to be in my sketch." She smiled excited, quickly moving to draw him with as much detail as possible before he disappeared back under the surface.

* * *

"Do you really think that tree has anything to do with it?" Verne asked sceptically, following Gus through the grounds near the lake.

"It's gotta. It's the only open portal to the centre of the Earth still open in Vonderland." Gus responded, knocking away a stray branch.

"Yeah and it's a good one for a leprechaun or an imp, but ratfinkles area bit too bulky for the passage." Verne argued.

"Well, there's only one way to find-"

"Quiet young ones. We do not wish for our young guest to learn of our journeys." Ubos interrupted, nodding one of his corners towards the pond. Confused, the boys turned towards the lake, finding a certain blonde with her back to them, scribbling away, raising her head and staring vividly at the area around her, as if trying to memorise every tiny detail the view had to offer.

"It's Namine!" Verne exclaimed a little too loudly, his eyes once again alight with excitement as the blonde in question jump.

"Who… oh, you're the boy who knew all about us." Namine smiled, noticing the red head.

"Yeah. It's an honour to meet you. You and your friends are my heroes." Verne replied excitedly, stepping towards her.

"And we lost another one." Gus muttered quietly so only Ubos could hear, rolling his eyes.

"Hmhmhm, we'd lose you too if the Keybearer was here. Those swords of his are pretty shiny." Ubos muttered back amusedly, earning an annoyed groan from the half elf wizard.

"So what are you doing out here, if you don't mind me asking?" Verne asked. "I thought you'd be with the others, observing the school and learning about the two headed dragon."

"I left gaining knowledge to Lucky Girl. Of all of the Guardians, she's best suited for that job." Namine answered, grinning softly at her excited companion. "I wanted to check the place out and find the best sites to draw." She finished, showing him a few pages of her sketch book.

"Wow, those look amazing. How did you find the time to become such a good artist?" Verne asked, staring at the sketches in awe.

"There were times in my life when drawing was the only thing I could do." Namine answered softly. Verne was too busy staring at the works of art to notice the slight frown that had formed on her face.

"Yo Verne, if you're done playing fan boy, we've gotta go." Gus called, snapping Verne back to reality.

"Looks like your friends are getting impatient." Namine commented, once again giving him her warm smile. "You can talk to me later if you want."

"That would be great." Verne stated happily. It took a second for him to register exactly what she said. "But I only have one friend over there." He added a little nervously.

"I can sense the two minds." Namine responded amusedly, causing both boys and the book to tense slightly. "But don't worry, your secret's safe with me." she added reassuringly.

"Um, ok. Well, I guess we better go." Verne mumbled, clearly still nervous as he headed back towards Gus. "I'll see you later." With that, the boys went back on their way, leaving a chuckling Namine free to get back to her sketch.

"There's something special about them."

* * *

"I can't believe that she was able to sense Ubos. Not even Zarlak's been able to do that." Gus said worriedly as they reached their destination, a tree with a bench in front of it that was, luckily, currently free of students.

"True, she is definitely talented." Ubos agreed thoughtfully. "It would be very interesting to study the full potential of her magic."

"Ubos, that talented girl could expose what we do to the world. And then you will be taken from us." Gus cried, getting more and more panicked.

"Calm down Gus, she said she wouldn't tell anyone." Verne said reassuringly, relaxing on the bench.

"But how do we know that she'll keep her word?" Gus asked, hyperventilating.

"Because she is a wielder of the legendary light magic." Verne answered wisely.

"That is true, to be able to wield such power, you need a heart of immense goodness." Ubos agreed. "But she may end up deciding that what you do is too dangerous and tell someone to protect you. Most would agree with that way of thinking, you are only kids after all."

"But so is she and the other Valour Guardians. None of them are more then a few years older then us." Verne said defensively. "Some of them were even younger then us when they started. She won't tell anyone."

"Let us not worry about this now." Ubos said, cutting off Gus' response. "Let's check this tree for any signs of dark magic's presence."

* * *

"Well, that was interesting." Jake commented, following Raimundo back into the air and towards the trees.

"Yeah, I really got a kick out of it when the pumpkin started screaming for mercy." Rai chuckled, not watching where he was going.

"Hey, watch it!" Eyes widening at the growl, Rai looked up just in time to dodge the scootzoomer he'd crossed paths with.

Scowling, Cassie pulled herself to an abrupt halt.

"What the heck do think your doing? Are you trying to have us both knocked out of the sky or do you just feel that everyone should just get out of your way?" She barked, glaring heatedly at the thrown off monk.

"Sorry! I wasn't aware that some was flying at a hundred miles an hour." Rai responded, his attitude apparent through the shock.

"Well, if you bothered to watch where you were going, that wouldn't be a problem." Cassie snapped back, leaning menacingly over her handlebars.

"Hey, that works both ways sister." Rai retorted, getting more then a little annoyed.

"Now, now, there's no reason to fight." Jake interrupted, flying between the two. "No one got hurt and everyone will pay more attention to the skies."

"Oh, go run back to your cave, scales." Cassie snapped, going red in the face. "Your kind are nothing but trouble. In fact, why don't you all leave Vonderland, it's not like we need you here anyway." With that she whipped her vehicle around and took off as fast as she could, leaving two frowning Guardians behind.

"Man, what is her problem?" Rai fumed, rubbing his temple. "And her screaming gave me a headache."

"I don't know. Let's just leave it, she looks like she's having a bad day. No sense getting frustrated about an angry girl if it has nothing to do with us." Jake responded.

"That's just it. I think she's mad because of us." Rai responded, earning a raised eyebrow from friend. "She passed us before, in just as much of a rush, but she still managed to glare at us along the way."

"Well, maybe she's one of those witches that comes from long families and thinks they're better then everyone else. But who cares?" Jake replied with a shrug. "She's gone and it's not our problem. Let's just check the rest of the school out and see if we can find anything like our dark, two headed dragon or how it got here."

"Yeah, ok. I guess you're right." Rai nodded, relaxing his face back into his usual, cocky grin. "But I demand a race while we're at it." He added right before taking off into the distance at top speed.

"Hey, no fair! Get back here you wind walking pain in the butt!" Jake cried before grinning himself and taking off after him, determined to win despite the head start.

* * *

Deep within the Earth, sealed from the world on the surface, stood a dark castle. The structure was bathed in an eerie, yellowish green light that appeared to be coming from the empty space surrounding the structure. Looking at it alone would send chills down your spine, but it was that aura of pure evil within that should frighten you.

"Are you sure we should have returned?" Rowce asked nervously, visibly shaking as he walked through a corridor just outside the main chamber.

"Yes, if we didn't, he'd just find us and punish us worse." Snerrot answered just a nervously, gulping as they reached the door. "Well, let's get it over with."

Opening the door, walked shakily into the room, looking up nervously at the throne before lowering their gaze, terrified of the man sitting on it's rage.

"Sorry Master Zarlak, but we failed." Snerrot whimpered. "It was Rowce's fault!" He quickly added, pointing an accusing finger at his blue companion.

"Na-uh, it was yours." Rowce cried, leaning over the skinnier ratfinkle.

"Cease your bickering." The calmness of the deep voice caused both of the winged rodents to stop immediately and stare openly in disbelief. The man with long black hair and beared, black eyes and dressed in a dark blue robe, the greatest and darkest Supreme Wizard of all time, wasn't angry by their utter failure in the least. In fact, there was a hint of excitement in his voice.

"You're not mad at us boss?" Rowce asked incredulously.

"On the contrary, you managed to find a true, young sorceress!" Zarlak responded, waving his glowing, green hand towards the fire in the middle of the room. The green flames increased dramatically before a clear image off Gwen appeared within it, happily reading a book on advanced potions. "This young sorceress, Lucky Girl, has an enormous amount of power for someone so young. She may even be as powerful as me. With her magic, in addition to my own and that which I have collected, I will become all powerful and be able to remove the spell keeping me here with ease."

"But how are you going to get her magic boss?" Snerrot asked confusedly. "She's on the surface and she's too powerful for any of your minions to catch."

"Besides, she's a good sorceress, there's no way she'd help you willingly." Rowce added.

"True, but there are ways to gain access to her powers against her will, despite being down here." Zarlak responded, pressing his fingers together. "Gather the magical items and all of my minions. It's time to end my exile."

* * *

"Well, that got us nowhere." Verne sighed, walking back up the stairs to the building.

"No kidding. The place hasn't been touched since the leprechauns used it." Gus agreed frustratedly, running a hand through his hair. So what do we do now?"

"I would suggest that we discover more about the magic this place was known to have before the school was built upon it." Ubos suggested, sneaking out of Verne's back pack. "It has after all, proven to connect the surface world to the centre of the Earth before."

"That means we're off to the library." Gus sighed. "Like I don't spend enough time in that place."

"You barely spend any time in that place." Verne retorted good-naturedly, ducking Gus' swing.

"Yeah well, who would want to spend all their free time looking at boring old books when you can be out fly through the -"

"It's Lucky Girl!" Verne interrupted, going excited again.

"Not again." Gus groaned as Gwen looked up.

"Hi there. Are you guys book lovers, or do you have an assignment due." Gwen asked, setting down her book.

"I love reading." Verne answered, looking down at her book. "Advance potions? You must be amazing at the art to be reading that book."

"Well, I prefer spells over potions, seeing as they are a lot more useful when you have to think quick, but yeah." Gwen replied, smiling. Looking the red head and his friend over, a sudden twinge crossed her face and her eyes flashed blue before a look of understanding replaced it. "Well, isn't that an interesting book you have."

"W-what do you-" Verne stuttered nervously before his back pack burst open.

"I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to hide from such a talented young sorceress for long." Ubos stated, grinning at Gwen as he floated before her.

"Now this is something new." Gwen commented, looking at him curiously as she slowly reached a hand towards him.

"Yes, but please reframe from telling people about me. I am helping my young charges complete their destiny and our actions must remain secret." Ubos requested, letting her hold him.

"You're fighting Zarlak, aren't you?" Gwen asked knowingly, earning gasps from the boys.

"How did you know?" Gus asked, staring at her with wide eyes.

"I read a book about the time when Zarlak was imprisoned. Within is a prophecy about the power of three." Gwen answered, turning towards him with a grin. "This amazing book has an enormous amount of magic. Add that to what he said about your destiny, it was easy to connect the dots. I suppose that the girl I saw with you before is the third?"

"The young artist was correct, you are quite a smart, young lady. I am Ubos by the way. Short for Ultimate Book of Spells."

"I'm Verne." The young Mortie added quickly.

"And I'm Gus." The blond added casually.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet all three of you." Gwen smiled.

"So, do you have any idea how the ratfinkles made it to the surface?" Gus asked, getting back to the matter at hand. "We've checked every connection to the centre of the Earth in the school and not one showed any signs of the dark magic needed to release Zarlak's minions."

"Unfortunately, no." Gwen sighed, moving to pick up another book on her table. "The only way I can come up with, both by your branch of magic and the various branches my friends and I use, is a portal of some kind, but after researching the spell used to seal him and his forces down there and the amount of power behind it from both the wizard and the crystal, it would take an enormous amount of power. More then any one being should be able to possess. You'd need God-like power."

"Or collected magic from the entire planet." Verne said softly, paling.

"What?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ever since his banishment, Zarlak has been stealing countless sources of magic, removing their touch from the world and using them to break through the sealing spell just enough to move throughout the different layers beneath the surface." Ubos informed her, getting a nod in response.

"And if he could use their magic to break through the different realms below us, then gathered even more magical items and minions to draw from-" Verne started.

"He could easily break through the seal." Gwen agreed. "Or at least enough of the magic to send his minions up."

"Then we've gotta go to his stronghold and get as many magical artefacts away from him as possible." Gus cried, his eye wide in panic.

"No, you are not ready for such a mission." Ubos stated firmly. "The last time you broke into his stronghold, two of you ended up evil and you almost destroyed each other. To do what you are suggesting would mean staying for a large amount of time in the most dangerous place in the entire centre of the Earth."

"But Ubos, if we don't Zarlak himself might rise again soon." Gus retorted, throwing his arms into the air.

"What if Lucky Girl and the others came with us?" Verne suggested, his eyes lighting up excitedly at the thought of seeing his heroes in action. "They've done this sort of thing before."

"A few times in some cases." Gwen nodded, waiting for Ubos' opinion.

"Well, I guess that would lessen the danger." Ubos sighed, still reluctant to go along with it before sighing in defeat. "Very well. Let us find Cassandra and the other Guardians."

"Yeah, let's get going!" Gus cheered, the idea of a journey blocking out his panic as he headed for the door.

However, just as Gwen got up to follow, the entire castle started shaking fiercely, heralding a burst of dark, green energy noticeable from the windows, causing more then one person to scream.

Her eyes glowing blue, Gwen tensed, levitating herself before turning to her companions. "I think our travel plans will have to wait."


	4. The Rise Of The Dark One

**The Rise Of The Dark One**

Everyone in Vonderland watched on, shaking in fear as a vortex of green magic appeared on the ground again, shaking the school's foundation as it released tremors through the ground. Most of the students outside quickly back peddled away from it as it grew, fully aware of what was released the last time this happened.

"Everyone, get inside the building NOW!" Miss Crystalgazer screamed, storming out the main doors. Not waiting for the students to respond, she quickly pulled out her wand and shot bright blue streams of magic at the students, magically manhandling them into the safety of the castle.

"This doesn't look good." Rai commented, giving up on trying to keep his balance and floating into the air.

"It doesn't feel any better." Namine said warily, pulling out her daggers. "Get ready for a fight. Whatever's on the other side of that vortex, they have very dark minds."

Just as she finished speaking, the portal flashed brighter the before and with a puff of smoke, ten creatures. Three were overgrown dragon flies, all of which were dark orange, nearly red. Two others were fierce looking griffons, both bearing scars across their faces, and the other five were clearly harpies, women with blood red wings and feathered legs, ending with sharp, wicked talons, just like their hands.

"Something tells me that they didn't come by to say hi." Jake stated, glaring at the creatures. "Dragon UP!" Fire covered his form before bursting away, revealing the red dragon. "Stop them before they hurt anyone." Jake ordered. The others quickly nodded and took off, Jake and Rai into the air and Namine towards a group of students frozen in fear as a harpy quickly approached them, cackling all the way down.

"Finally, I found the passage releasing Zarlak's forces. Only I bet the Guardians saw it too." Cassie said as she hovered a mile high in the sky over the vortex, her tone turning sour at the second sentence. "No matter, I'll just take care of this before they get the chance." With that, she dived back towards the ground, wand already in hand and a cocky smile planted firmly on her face.

Gwen, Ubos, Gus and Verne glared out the window as the dark creatures shot into the sky and started terrorising the school. This was exactly what they were afraid would happen. It proved that Zarlak wasn't strong enough to break the seal yet, but his forces were more then capable of doing damage on their own.

"We've gotta get out there and stop them before they destroy the school." Gus growled, pulling out his wand.

"But you can't!" Ubos shouted, shooting up right in front of the half elf. "If you do, others, particularly your teachers, will notice that you have experience fighting such creatures and while become suspicious as to how. If you go out there, fighting in front of everyone, you will endanger our mission. And unless Zarlak succeeds in returning to the surface, that must not happen."

"But we can just let those creatures ransack the school." Gus argued.

"And the teachers will be to busy trying to protect the students." Verne added in agreement.

"Which is where the Guardians come in." Gwen responded, raising her blue glowing hand to the window, causing it to flash blue before bursting open. "We'll take care of them. You guys stay put." Getting reluctant nods from the boys, she gave them a small smile before jumping out the window and charged toward the battlefield.

"Are you sure they can handle it? I mean, they are outnumbered." Gus asked nervously, frowning at the battle sight.

"Don't worry, they've face far worse then these guys." Verne responded, running to the window. "I can't wait to see them in action." He added excitedly. Gus and Ubos could only chuckle as the fan boy in Verne returned as they joined him by the window.

* * *

Namine made it to the group of students and quickly threw a mental assault at the harpy just as it was about to strike. It screamed as it's head exploded with pain and crashed to the ground as it's hands shot to it's temples, the mental anguish cancelling out the ability to fly. Namine was about to knock it right out, but was distracted as a boy behind her screamed. Looking up, her eyes widened in horror, she quickly dropped her focus on her power and pushed the students down, narrowly avoiding the talons of another two harpies.

Seeing the two feathered pests swooping back around, and the third one on the ground getting back up and angrier then ever, Jake pulled himself into a power dive, tucking his wings, arms and legs as close to his body as he could.

Pulling herself back to her feet, Namine gritted her teeth as the harpy she'd attacked surged right for her, talons ready for the kill. Thinking quick, she thrust her daggers forward, clashing them with the talons, blocking them, but stumbling backwards with a gasp, unable to compare with the dark creature's strength. It only got worse as she sensed the other two coming back.

Just as she was about to scream for the kids to move, another, familiar mind crossed her senses and she sighed in relief as a red blur shot over her head.

Opening his wings again as he got close to the ground, Jake glided right over the group Namine was protecting and blew a stream of fire right at the approaching harpies. The pair screamed at the shot before banking to avoid it. However, one couldn't move quick enough and was hit right across their left side. Screaming like a banshee, the harpy fell to the ground with a loud thud and didn't rise again.

Not wasting time, Jake moved on to the other. This one however, proved to be a bit more of a challenge. It shot straight towards him and lashed out with all four sets of talons fiercely, clearly infuriated.

"Aww, are you mad about your friend?" Jake taunted, looping around and behind the bird lady as she lashed out with both arms. "Well, join her, I think she's calling for you anyway." He added before launching a brutal kick into her back, followed by a whip from his tail to her wings. Screaming again, this time in pain, the harpy plummeted to the ground and crash landed right on top of the other one.

Sending a mental message to thank Jake, Namine realigned her daggers for the tenth time to block the harpy's talons and concentrated on it's mind again. The harpy cried out and backed off, clutching it's head again as it wobbled, this time going through a dizzying sensation. No longer having to worry about being stabbed, she focused harder and like when Rowce and Snerrot attacked, put her enemy to sleep.

Sighing, she took a moment to relax herself. Unlike the others, she didn't have much experience in this sort of situation after all. Catching her breath, she turned to the students.

"Get inside. Hurry, it's too dangerous out here." As the shaking students did as they were told, Namine turned back to the portal, intent on finding a way to stop it.

Rai shot like a rocket through the sky with a smirk, effortlessly dodging the mandibles of a giant dragonfly and the talons of a harpy.

"Come on, surely you can do better then that." He sneered, almost casually pulling himself back, away from their strikes. Turning right, he flew in between them, smirking as they launched themselves at him. Pulling up at the last second, he laughed merrily as he watched them collide and drop like rocks to the ground.

Blue blasts caught his eye as they shot down at another dragonfly and expecting to see Gwen, he turned and frowned at the sight of Cassie, wand in hand and shooting a barrage of blue bursts at the harpy below her, not even noticing the one coming in to attack from above.

"Look out!" Rai shouted, shooting of in her direction as fast as he could.

Cassie merely gave him a glare through the corner of her eye and kept going down, attacking her evasive target. Taking a little more time to aim, she fired a blue stream at the bird lady and finally managed to land a shot, the magic spinning around and constraining it like rope. Struggling desperately, the dragonfly fell from the sky and joined it's beaten allies with a hard landing on the ground.

"Yes! See that wind boy, I anything you can do, I can do AAAHHHH!" Cassie screamed as she turned, only to find the last harpy just inches above her, it's talon ready to crush her head. With no time to react, and absolutely terrified, she could do nothing but stare with wide eyes as the cackling creature prepared to kill her.

"HI-YA!" Just as it's talons were a mere inch from Cassie's head, Rai shot by, faster then a bullet, and buried his fist right in the harpy's abdomen. The harpy screeched in pain, but before it could even be thrown back by the force of the punch, it was slugged in the face by a spinning heel kick to the head. The now ragged looking, semiconscious creature was completely unable to stop it's decent until it had already caused a large explosion of water from the middle of the school's lake.

Turning back to the purple-haired witch, Rai let out a soft sigh of relief at seeing her unharmed before a look of anger crossed his face.

"What is your problem? You rushed recklessly into battle and don't even bother to pay attention when people are trying to warn you of the danger you could easily avoid if you just take the time to pay attention to your surroundings. Do you have some kind of death wish?" He yelled, throwing his arms out in exasperation.

"I was doing my job and stopping a harpy." Cassie retorted as her fear and shock went away, being replaced with her fiery temper.

"You aren't fit for the job." Rai snapped viscously, making Cassie gasp. "True heroes take the time and care to know what's around them and work with and listen to their allies as best they can to ensure that everyone, themselves and every innocent bystander, comes out with minimal harm. You're not interested in what's for the best of us all, you're only out here to prove how great you are, which, as we've just seen, leaves you extremely vulnerable to attacks and makes you a liability to the rest of us."

Cassie could do nothing but stare in shock as he flew off. His words had hit her hard.

Back on the ground, many of the students screamed, running frantically and shooting spells randomly over their shoulders as the griffons dropped in on them. More then one student already had sever scratches down their back and the griffons looked keen to do it again.

"AAAHHHH! Someone help!" One kid screamed as a griffon's talon crossed his shoulder just enough to tear through his shirt. Screeching victoriously, the griffon increased his speed and prepared to slash again.

"Terra Orior!" Just as the griffon was about to make it's killing blow, four large blocks of earth shot up from the ground and struck home, knocking both griffons twenty yards back and pressed them into the ground.

"Well, that wasn't too hard." Gwen commented, letting the blue glow of magic around her hands die down.

The ground chose that moment to shake again, causing the children to scream in fear as the last few still outside dived through the castle doors and slammed them shut. The Guardians gathered in near the portal and tensed as it pulsed quickly.

"You had to jinx it, didn't you?" Rai glared at the sheepish sorceress.

Anything she was going to say in response was quickly cut out as four flame throwers shot from the centre of the portal, right at them. Only Gwen's quick reflexes and her shield saved them from being barbequed.

"Whoa, even I can't do that." Jake commented, looking at the flames' source in awe. Raising an eyebrow, Rai turned to him and sighed in frustration at the sight of wonder and excitement on the reptile's face.

"Yo Jake, place fan boy later." He snapped, hitting Jake upside the head. "This is actually a serious problem."

"I can sense four dark minds coming from that portal." Namine called, staring intently at the centre of the portal. "Brace yourselves, here they come."

A pair of blue and yellow wings were the first thing to break through the portal's surface. The group tensed in recognition as the being continued to rise, revealing a reptilian body like the dragon they'd fought before. However, this one was slightly bigger and had four heads as apposed to two and none of them looked pleasant.

"In the name of Zarlak, you shall all perish." The four heads shouted simultaneously before shooting another bout of flames at the young heroes.

"Don't think so! Wudai Star Wind!" Rai shouted defiantly, throwing his hands up. The powerful resulting winds clashed with the flames halfway and redirected them back at the dragon. Unperturbed, the dragon merely rose higher into the air, dodging the flames without so much as a care, before shooting again, this time rapidly shooting fireballs repeatedly.

"Give us some credit." Jake shouted cockily. Staying still for five seconds, he created a clone of himself and both shot into the air, dodging fireballs with ease as they shot back with flames of their own. Making it through the barrage, both Jakes pulled their fists back, claws at the ready.

But before they could do anything, the four headed dragon thrust one head out like a striking snake, catching both off guard and snaring one in it's teeth. The Jake screamed in agony and the other Guardians watched I horror as the teeth ripped straight through him. However, the team's fears turned to relief as the slain Jake dispersed in blue chi. The dragon however, had wasted no time on that, and quickly lashed out at the real Jake with his tail.

"AAAAHHHH!" Jake smashed hard into the ground, groaning painfully. Namine quickly took off to help him, energy already gathering in her hands.

"Alright, you've caused enough trouble for one day." Gwen growled, her eyes and body glowing blue as she rose seven feet into the air. "Octem Montitus!"

The blue beam hit home causing all four heads to roar in intense pain. Unable to focus, it lost control over it's wings and plummeted to the ground, Gwen's energy accelerating it's decent the whole way. Cheers from the school's students and teachers shook the castle as the beast's legs were consumed by the vortex, quickly followed by the rest of it.

However, just as everyone was sure they were safe, a dark laugh echoed throughout the entire school. At the same time, green magic from the portal surged up Gwen's blue beam, following it up to it's source. Gwen had only enough time to gasp in shock before the magic reached her.

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" She screamed as the dark magic tore through her. The energy dug deep into her before it started pulling away, leaving Gwen feeling weaker and weaker. Unsure what was happening, she forced her eyes open and wasn't pleased with what she found. The green magic wasn't the power leaving her, the dimming pain was merely from her body going numb. It was her own magic. Blue tendrils, lightly covered in green, were bursting from her entire being and were drawn right into the centre of the vortex. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Gwen, hold on, I'm coming." Rai cried, shooting off like a rocket. He quickly got to her side, but just as he touched her, the green magic on her skin burst at him, knocking him away with a scream. Righting himself in the air, he shot back towards her again, just as the last of her energy left her. With nothing left to steal, the green magic followed the blue back from whence it came, leaving a thoroughly exhausted Gwen to fall into Rai's arms.

"Gwen, are you ok?" Rai asked worriedly, dropping to the ground next to Namine and a fully healed Jake. Not waiting for the answer, Namine stood up and placed her hands over the red head, intent on healing her.

"So weak. My magic's gone." Gwen managed to whisper before her eyes closed and she fell into unconsciousness.

"Namine, is she going to be ok?" Jake asked looking down worriedly at the sorceress.

"Physically, she's fine. But she's been drained of almost every drop of her magic and energy. She'll need to rest for a while. And have a big meal when she wakes up." Namine answered as she put her hands down, sighing sadly.

They didn't have time to worry about her anymore as the dark laughter increased in volume and malice. The portal responded in kind, becoming brighter and brighter, almost turning yellow. With one final flash, it exploded up and outward, blinding everyone in sight. When the light cleared, screams of pure terror came from around the entire school. Looking at where the portal had been, Jake, Namine and Raimundo tensed, shivering at feeling of pure evil coming from a chuckling man with long black hair and beard, clad in a blue robe. In his hand was a wooden staff with an eerie, yellow orb at the top.

"Beware surface dwellers. I have returned and more powerful then ever." Raising his staff, he laughed maliciously as green energy shot from the orb, covering the entire school.


	5. Regrouping

**Regrouping**

The people of the town watched, terrified, as an infinite amount of what looked like green lightning bolts shot up from within the school building. A moment later, they gathered together and spun around the building. In a flash of blinding, green light, the building was gone and in it's place was a castle surrounded in a green dome of energy.

Within the dome, the teachers were suppressing their own panic attacks as they hurried the screaming students along, deep into the castle.

"Everyone, this way. If we are to survive, we must get to the secret pathways." Miss Crystalgazer called, leading the pack into a corridor near the kitchen. Sending a shot of magic at the wall, she opened a secret door and ushered the children through. The students didn't need to be told anything else as they followed half of their teachers in and toward the bunkers known only to the staff for times of great need. The rest of the staff continued searching the castle as quickly as they could for missing students. Miss Crystalgazer however, headed back outside to the Guardians. As powerful and talented as they had proven to be, she knew that they stood no chance against Zarlak. Especially since he had drained the power of one of their own.

* * *

Back in the courtyard, pandemonium had broken loose. The portal was spewing out more and more dark creatures by the second and there were already far too many to stop.

Unable to take them on, Rai created a tornado around the group while Jake shot at it with his fire breath, allowing the wind to increase and control the flames and create a fire tornado. It had thankfully repelled every attacker coming their way, either by burning them to a crisp or blowing them back, but they were realistic and knew once Zarlak was done with his dome and focused on them, they would stand no chance.

"Namine, can you enter his mind and shut him down?" Jake asked, Rai groaning in the background at the strain on his energy reserves. Sighing sadly, Namine shook her head.

"I already tried. But this is no rookie or dimwit we're dealing with. His mind is heavily warded against intrusion and I can't even scratch the surface."

"Then we are doomed." Jake sighed, grimacing as the tornado shrunk after each scream of the creatures attempting to get through resounded throughout the area, indicating that Rai's strength was fading.

"We need to come up with something soon." Rai grunted, squeezing his eyes shut as he dropped his head. "At best, I'd say we have a couple of minutes before I collapse."

Before any of the others could respond, the entire tornado was blasted with green magic and disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving Rai to fall to his knees. Looking up, the group glared fearfully as the supreme wizard landed before them.

"I suppose I should thank you young sorceress, for supplying the power needed to free me." He said, smiling darkly at the barely conscious Gwen. "But now, I must get rid of you and your friends. Your powers are all strong and I cannot have you interfering with my plans." Preparing his worse, he raised his charging staff up… only for a powerful, blue beam to blast it right out of his hand. "What?"

"You didn't think we'd let you destroy half of the Earth's greatest heroes, did you Zarlak?" Verne asked defiantly. Turning to his left, where the blast had come from, he found the three that had caused him so much misery glaring, their wands united and pointing right at him.

"And do you think that your pathetic, little wands, even together, have the power to stop me?" Zarlak retorted, green magic cackling like electricity on his hands. He never noticed the blur behind him.

"Fist of Tebigong!" Before Zarlak could so much as turn around, the American Dragon had ploughed the metal glove Shen Gong Wu square into his back, launching him painfully through the air with an incredibly loud scream. Noticing the dark creatures shooting his way, Jake took a deep breath and breathed fire, burning many and causing others to back away fearfully. The few that continued through found themselves being slugged and making deep holes in the ground thanks to the same metal fist that struck their master. "Thanks for the hand, but we gotta move." He cried to the wizards as they joined Namine by Gwen.

Another harpy tried to take advantage of the enemy's distraction and shot forward, claws extended. Jake turned just in time to see it coming, but before he could prepare a counterattack, a blue wall, much like Gwen's, appeared between them. Unable to pull back, the harpy screamed as she crashed into it, looking like a bird that struck a window before sliding down to the ground.

"Hurry everyone, this way." Miss Crystalgazer shouted, running to Raimundo's side and helping him to his feet. "We must get to the safe house."

Nodding, Cassie, Gus and Verne jumped onto their scoot zoomers, helped the Guardians unable to fly on and followed their headmistress inside, with Jake flying close behind them. They reached the castle entrance none to soon, closing the door just as an enraged scream echoed throughout the entire castle, followed by an explosion of green magic.

* * *

They quickly made it to the passage entrance just as the last of the students the teachers rounded up went through and followed them in, closing the entrance and making it appear that it was never there behind them.

"Everyone, stay near the adults. It is extremely easy to get lost in here and if you do, we will never find you." Miss Crystalgazer called, lighting her wand as she started down one of the five different passageways. She wasn't kidding, that was clear everyone as they made their way down the path. The hidden passage was a maze, with at least three new twists and turns appearing every ten feet. It was absolutely amazing that anyone could make their way through it, without any aid. What made it even worse, as many of the teachers pointed out, was that magic had a very limited affect in the maze, due to the many spells that made it impossible to detect anyone within and to prevent intruders from finding their way forward or back. It made even the teachers hesitant to use it. In fact, the only people who weren't looking extremely worried were Rai, who had lazily managed to discover that the serpent's tail could still phase him through the walls, Miss Crystalgazer assumed that it was because his item's magic was very different from what wizards had encountered when the building was created, and Gwen, who'd fallen asleep during the ride.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally stopped at a dead end. Many of the students gasped at the sight of and started panicking, thinking that they had taken a wrong turn somewhere and were forever lost. However, Miss Crystalgazer merely hushed them as she raised her wand and sent a shot of magic at the wall and once again, a door that you couldn't tell was there opened.

Stepping through, the entire group was amazed at the sight of them room within. It was at least the size of the school's stadium and was very well furnished. Balls of magic hung in the air, providing light and the temperature was very comfortable, unlike the cold you'd expect from an underground bunker. To top it off, their were ten doors scattered around the walls, half labelled as a girl's sign and half with a boy's, indicating that they were bathrooms.

"Make yourselves comfortable children, and don't worry. Even if the entire castle falls down, we are safe here. Not even Zarlak will be able to find us." Miss Crystalgazer called soothingly as the teachers went to comfort the more panicky students. Seeing al of the children were more or less ok and all accounted for, she turned to where Namine and Jake, backing human form, sat on the floor, next to couches that they'd rested Gwen and an exhausted Rai on. Unconsciously, she noted that Cassie, Gus and Verne were sitting very close by, the boys looking worried and Cassie looking down and ashamed.

"Are you all alright?" She asked worriedly, her eyes spending extra time on the unconscious two.

"Yes, we'll be fine. We just need some time to rest." Namine nodded, giving her a small, reassuring smile.

"Which gives us time to come up with a plan." Jake responded, scratching the back of his head. "How do we deal with this situation? And how is he so powerful? Gwen couldn't do a thing to stop him from draining her powers and she's the most powerful of us all. Not to mention that her powers have the most potential."

"It is because Zarlak spent centuries increasing his powers." Ubos answered, flying out of Cassie's bag. All of those paying attention to the conversation, minus the Guardians, gasped in surprise or panic as the living book headed towards the Guardians. "He has also been gathering magical items and beings from all around the centre of the Earth and draining their magic, giving him power beyond measure. Add that to the power he's now stolen from Lucky Girl, he is quite possibly invincible."

"Ubos, what are you doing? No one's supposed to see you!" Cassie cried, missing as she attempted to grab the floating book.

"What is this? What is going on here?" Miss Crystalgazer asked, her eyes wide behind her glasses.

"I, my lady, am the Ultimate Book of Spells, or Ubos for short. I have been guiding Cassandra, Gus and Verne since the three met in their journeys to stop Zarlak and free the stolen magic. Unfortunately, it appears that we were unable to do enough in time." Ubos told her, watching as her shock continued grow.

"You have been helping three children to the Centre of the Earth? That's incredibly dangerous. How could you put children's lives in such jeopardy?" Miss Crystalgazer demanded. "And why was I never informed of such activity?" She added, rounding on the three nervous students in question.

"Before now, no one was ever to know of their journeys and they swore not to tell a soul." Ubos answered for them, getting the headmistress's attention back to him. "And to answer your first question, I believe that these three are the prophesized power of three destined to defeat Zarlak. Together, they have immense power and the potential for supreme sorcery. But what they did not have before, and still need more of, is the experience and wisdom it requires to cultivate their powers adequately enough to face Zarlak. But you need not worry my dear, they have excelled in every journey beyond what even I expected of them. But now the time of secrets is over. We must all combined our knowledge and powers if we hope to undo what Zarlak has done."

"We're going to need more then that." Verne sighed before turning a hopeful eye to Jake and Namine. "Would the other Valour Guardians be able to help us?"

Namine shook her head. "I can't get a portal or a com signal through the dome. Even if they notice what's going on, they'll never get inside." Verne dropped his head sadly at that, all of his hopes of rescue dashed.

"But there is a way to take the stolen powers back from Zarlak." Ubos stated, getting everyone's attention. "When she's recovered, Lucky Girl can use her restored powers to pull her stolen energy from Zarlak back to her with a spell hidden in my pages, provided that Zarlak hasn't yet used it all, along with returning the magic he's stolen from every other creature and item he's obtained. Zarlak would only have his natural magic left and while that is still and extremely large amount of powerful, Lucky Girl and the other Guardians should have the strength to stand up to him. That's when the final part of the plan comes into play."

"And what would that be Ubos?" Gus asked, his ears twitching in his curiosity.

"Lucky Girl and I will combined our powers in another spell within my pages that will reactivate the seal placed on Zarlak. Provided that his minions are also in close proximity to the vortex, that will occur if the Zarlak's is gone, they will all be sucked back to the centre of the Earth too."

"But how do we get them all near the vortex?" Verne asked doubtfully. "It's unlikely that they'll be keen to go back."

"That's where everyone else comes in." Ubos responded. "You must all use your powers to herd them close to the portal. But at the same time, we'll need someone to watch Lucky Girl's back while we are casting the banishing spell."

"Is this plan likely to work?" Jake asked sceptically, frowning at the book. "It's going to take a lot to get it to be successful and there's a number of ways it could fail."

"I will admit that to be true." Ubos sighed. "But the only other way is to take Zarlak and his forces head on and that will only spell disaster. What's more, if he is allowed to stay on the surface world for to long, the dark wizards here will gather by his side and there will be no force on Earth with the slightest hope of stopping him. We will all be obliterated, and not even the combined power of your quite amazing team mates will even put a dent in his plans."

"But to perform this plan, we will need large numbers to fight. We cannot put the students in such harm." Miss Crystalgazer broke in, looking very alarmed.

"We could do it with just the teachers." Namine suggested. "I could protect Lucky Girl and Rai and Jake's combined powers can contain a good number of the dark army, at least for a short period of time. With the teachers by our side, we should be able to do this."

"And we're going to fight too." Cassie stated firmly, eliciting nods from Gus and Verne.

"Absolutely not." Miss Crystalgazer cried, whipping around to them. "I will not allow students to endanger themselves like this."

"But Miss Crystalgazer, we have to." Cassie replied defiantly. "We're the ones with the most experience fighting Zarlak, we're the ones prophesised to defeat him, and… I have to make up for my actions." At this, she lowered her head shamefully before turning to the Guardians apologetically. "I'm sorry for how I acted around you guys. I was jealous that you got the credit for your actions while I didn't and of the amount of power you all have, especially Lucky Girl. Can you forgive me?"

"It's Rai that really you need to ask that, but yeah, I forgive you." Jake replied casually, with Namine grinning as she nodded her head.

Relief filling her, she turned to the boys and Ubos. "I owe you guys an apology too, for acting like I did, especially you Verne. I'm sorry. And you were right. From what I saw of how they fight, they are pretty amazing."

"It's ok Cassie. We're all good." Verne said, both him and Gus smiling reassuringly.

"We're just glad to have you back to normal." Gus added, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Now what do you say we start planning the attack?"

"You have no chance of stopping them my lady." Ubos said amusedly as Miss Crystalgazer opened her mouth to protest. "They are righteous, self sacrificing and most of all, stubborn. I promise that one day, they will all be the people all wizards and witches look up to. But don't worry. They are powerful and talented. They will be fine."

"Very well." Miss Crystalgazer sighed in defeat, Ubos' words and the looks on the students' faces making it clear that she couldn't win the argument. Gathering the teachers, the group updated them on the plan and made sure everyone knew their part before breaking apart again and resting up. They all had to get as much rest as possible, as once Rai and Gwen awoke, the battle would begin. And if they weren't ready, the world would be screwed.


	6. Fighting Impossible Odds

**Fighting Impossible Odds**

Gwen walked silently as the group moved through the maze, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. Upon awakening, the others had quickly informed her and Raimundo of the plan and neither could say that they liked it. Stopping Zarlak basically fell to her while Rai would be responsible for most of the work gathering and stopping Zarlak's minions. The plan banked on them having more power then either was sure they possessed, even at the best of times. They still had yet to return to full strength after the last battle.

_At least we__'__re not doing it alone._ She thought, looking around the group. Miss Crystalgazer was leading the way through the maze, an ectoplasmic being and a genie beside her and the school librarian behind them, ensuring that no one got lost. The four were the only members of staff Miss Crystalgazer would allow to help, wanting the others to stay behind to keep the students as safe as possible.

There was also the two young wizards and their friend, Cassie, beside her, their knuckles going white as they clenched their wands. For all the courage that they'd shown before and determination to fight, they were still just teenagers and had never been in such a battle that they couldn't escape from before. But despite their fear, she knew they wouldn't back down. They were definitely true heroes.

Finally, Ubos was floating between Gwen and Cassie. Sensing the power emanating from him, it was the fact that he would assist her with the spells she needed to cast that reassured her the most. Mixing different types of magic was normally very dangerous, but when done correctly, it had potential for power beyond most people's wildest dreams. It was that power that would decide the fate of the world on this day.

* * *

Within another area of the castle, Zarlak's magic was noticeable wherever you looked. Green magical blasts were hitting everything, destroying some items, transforming others. The once peaceful looking school quickly became a dark and foreboding fortress.

Looking around, satisfied with the arrangements, Zarlak sat down in his throne and watched magical images of his minions moving through the dome and attacking the Wizard High Council members that had noticed his work and were trying to stop him.

"Pathetic fools." He sneered, as two four headed dragons left three wizards in a bloody mess on the ground before burning two more and a witch. "My forces capture every magical creature in Vonderland, cause every witch and wizard to hide under some rock within the castle and I put up a dome that only dark forces can pass through and yet they still think they can stop me." Chuckling, he wave his hand and the picture repeatedly changed as he searched for the dark ones of the surface world.

* * *

Rai slowly pushed his intangible head through the wall and looked from left to right, searching for any threats. Seeing no one anywhere in visual range, he pulled his head back in and let the gold glow around the Serpent's Tail in his hand fade, reverting him back to tangible form.

"It's all clear. Let's move before that changes." He said, stepping aside as Miss Crystalgazer stepped up to the wall and opened the pathway. The group quickly filed out and shut the entrance again before setting off through the castle as quietly as possible, hugging the walls as to avoid attention.

Passing a window, a scream caught the groups' attention. Bursts of fire and magic appeared frequently over the castle wall, blocked from causing damage by the dome, as wizards and witches fought against unbeatable numbers of dark creatures. It was clear to everyone that while they'd been recovering, more and more of Zarlak's forces were making it to the surface. And with the rate at which they were coming, there would be enough of them to conquer all of America and Canada, at least, by nightfall.

"Still think we have enough power to do this?" Gwen asked, turning worriedly to Ubos.

"Yes, but we must hurry and end this before it can get any worse." Ubos answered, his voice filled with his own worry. "We must find Zarlak immediately."

Gwen's eyes glowed blue in response as she searched for Zarlak's energy signature. It wasn't as easy as usual and took much longer then expected as the dome gave off the same signature and was everywhere, but after a few moments of intense concentration, a spike of power more concentrated then the dome crossed her senses. Smiling victoriously, her power in her eyes faded away and she turned to the others.

"He's in the great hall."

"Then let's go blow his old, decrepit butt back to that pile of rubble where he belongs." Cassie exclaimed, marching off. The others quickly followed.

* * *

The dark smile only continued to grow as Zarlak watched the images before him. Unseen to the Wizards opposing him, a dark cloud, the sign that his forces on the surface were near, quickly approached. It wouldn't be long now. With the army of dark beings waiting for his return close by, and almost all of his servants bellow reaching the surface, he was nearly ready to begin the final phase of his plan.

With everything going as planned, despite the inhabitants of Vonderland and it's unusual guests having managing to escape him, he turned his attention to other matters.

"The four teenagers were completely different in powers and abilities and all of them were strong. It makes me wonder as to what else has changed since my banishment." He muttered, stroking his beard as he waved his glowing hand, changing the images before him yet again in search of warriors of light. Many wizards crossed through the magical image, but Zarlak paid them no mind, seeing nothing but the usual amount of skill of Master Wizards. Morty cops past through from time to time, but they didn't even gain a flicker of interest from the dark magic practitioner.

He was about to consider his search pointless and give up, but just before he did, a teenage boy with black hair and clad in a navy blue Gi appeared. A powerful, wild, white aura surrounded him as he shot into the air faster then Zarlak had ever thought possible and threw his fist into a giant, deadly looking machine, flying through and out the other side of it. As he did, a girl with red hair and green eyes, clad in black pants and a purple top, shot up to the top via a grappling hook, and lashed out at the two riding it simultaneously with her feet. Zarlak didn't care about the girl, but watched with fascination as the boy gathered energy in his hands and blasted the device into oblivion the second the girl got the villains away from it.

"Have you found something worthy of your attention in the world, Master Zarlak?" A deep, husky, barely feminine voice asked, diverting Zarlak's attention to the entrance. There, smiling maliciously with yellow teeth, was what looked like an old hag. She was just slightly taller then Cassie, but almost twice the width. Her skin was a disgusting grey and she had little fat or muscle on her, leaving her bones to stick out at the joints. Instead of five fingers, each hand had but three and each one was shaped more like a long and thick talon. Her hair was snow white and her eyes were dominantly yellow with red irises. She was clad in nothing more then blue dress that looked more like an old, overgrown rag, with a bone hanging around her neck and a pink ribbon in her hair.

"Ah, Lady Zog, I see that you have arrived." Zarlak said, pleased, but being careful not to show it. Zog already thought that she'd become his queen and he wasn't going to encourage that thought in any way. "I have been observing the world for potential threats and I may have found one." He told her, turning back to the image just in time to see something brown twitch around the boy's waist. Previously, he had just thought that it was part of the boy's sash, but now, on closer inspection, he could see that it looked like a monkey's tail.

"Another child?" Zog asked in disbelief. "How are children becoming so dangerous?"

"This one isn't a wizard, his powers are of a different source. There's others with powers outside wizard magic hidden within Vonderland too. A member of the Dragon Order, a sorceress, a Xiaolin dragon and a telepath. It's very interesting." Zarlak responded, his interest being peaked again as the images changed to a ghostly, but clearly still living, boy with snow white hair and green eyes in a black and white jumpsuit fighting another, more malicious looking ghost while a red skinned cross between a bat and a stingray flew nearby. The images changed again to show a blond boy in meadow. Unlike the scenes beforehand, this one didn't have any conflict, confusing Zarlak for a moment. His confusion was rectified a moment later however, as a white sword, shaped similarly to a key, with a blue and gold snowflake at the top appeared in the boy's hand, the boy smiling fondly at his weapon as the sunlight reflected off of it. "Amazing! Now that's a special boy." Zarlak muttered, recognising the blade. However, before he could examine the boy or the blade anymore, the image changed on it's own, in accordance to the spells that he'd cast, and showed him a corridor within Vonderland currently in use by the headmistress, three other teachers and the three children that had caused him so much grief in the background, along with the four new teenagers.

"Well, it looks like our thorns have chosen to reveal themselves." Zarlak chuckled before turning to Zog. "Go and bring me your equals. I believe it's time to show these goody goodies just what they're up against."

Zog merely cackled and set off to do as she was asked. Zarlak summoned his staff and fiddled with the black wings on either side of the orb, smirking the whole time. He now had more power then any other being on the planet. He was on the Earth's surface again and he no longer had any need for the Ultimate Book of Spells. With nothing holding him back any longer, he would rule over all and crush anyone that opposed him. Starting with Ubos, the children and those who had chosen to stand beside them.

* * *

The group kept low as they moved, ducking beneath the windows and avoiding every creature they past. Ignoring a few close calls, they made it through the castle without incident and quickly got to the last door between them and their target.

"Is everyone ready?" Ubos asked firmly, looking over everyone in turn. Each member of the group nodded, determination covering their faces and hiding the fear within.

"Then let's get this party started." Rai stated, stepping before the group and aiming his hands at the double doors. "Wind!"

The doors were blown off their hinges and soared across the room. They were on a collision course with Zarlak, but with a casual wave of his staff, he blasted them into dust.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up." Zarlak said uncaringly, rising to his feet as the group crossed the threshold into the room, all of them glaring heatedly at the dark wizard.

"Back your bags old man, cause we're sending you right back where you came from." Gus growled, brandishing his wand.

"I highly doubt that, elf boy." Zarlak taunted, sneering right at him as the blond stiffened. "You and your little friends didn't stand a chance before. Now I'm far more powerful then any wizard has ever thought was possible. All of you combined don't even hold a candle to me."

"We'll see about that." Jake growled, transforming in a flash of fire a split second before he and Rai shot into the air, right at him.

But before they could reach him, the wall to the right exploded inward as a giant, roaring ball with spikes, like the end of a mace, rolled into the room, right in between Zarlak and his enemies.

"Whoa!" Jake cried, altering his flight path upward. Unable to fly vertical, like most of the other Valour Guardians' flyers, he only managed to avoid being cut to ribbons by the sudden burst of wind Rai released below his wings. "What is that thing?" He gasped.

"Besides bad news." Rai added, glaring down at the mobile shredder as he reached Jake's altitude.

"The master's pet." A deep voice responded from behind the land bound group, forcing them to scream and scatter as it's owner charged in. getting back up from the ground, the group found him to be a humanoid rhino.

Before the group could prepare to attack again, six flamethrowers shot through the hole in the wall, forcing everyone to throw up magic shields, or a blast of wind in Rai and Jake's case. As the flames died down, two giant bodies of blue and yellow entered the room.

"Awe great, the multi-headed pains in the butt are back." Raimundo groaned, flying back as one of the heads of the four-headed dragon snapped at him. "How can this get any worse?"

"I'm sure I can find a way." Green magic, that looked more like fire then a beam, struck Jake in the back at that, right in between the wings.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Jake screamed, falling forward at a dangerous speed. Terrified for his friend, Rai focused his power into a small tornado below Jake, catching him and gently lowering him to the ground.

"I should have known better then to ask that."

"Guys, more are coming." Verne yelled, his eyes widening in fear as a horde of dark creatures charged towards them from outside.

"Teachers, with me. We must stop them." Miss Crystalgazer shouted, running towards the hole. Together, she and the teachers raised their wands and took off outside, keeping themselves between the room and the horde.

"And the group is already divided." Zog cackled, raising her hands, bringing forth her fiery, green magic again. "Now to destroy them all."

"We'll see about that!" Cassie growled, shooting a beam from her wand right at the hag. However, Zog's power proved to be too much as she raised one hand and blocked the oncoming blast with one of her own. Cassie placed both hands on her wand and grunted and groaned as she put every drop of magic she could into her blast, only for Zog's magic to continue pushing hers back.

"Fool! You're magic can do nothing against me." Zog cackled, adding her other hand and even more power into her blast.

"Maybe not alone, but she has us!" Gus shouted as two more blue beams combined with Cassie's tripling its size and strength. Cassie smiled as she looked at her friends, standing on either side of her. Zog however, scowled and grunted as their blast equalised with her own.

The Rhino man charged at the trio, smirking to himself as they failed to notice his approach. He was within ten feet of them when Verne caught him in the corner of his eye and turned with a look of horror on his face. The Rhino man just laughed at his face and was about to gut him with his horn when a blast of fire struck his side and sent him to the ground, screaming in pain as he rolled away.

"Nice shot." Namine commented by Jake's side as her glowing hands healed Jake's wound.

"Thanks. I try." Jake responded, sighing as the last of the pain disappeared from his back. Rising back to his feet, he turned to thank her, only to grab her hastily and take off into the sky, narrowly dodging the rolling, spiked ball. "Man, that thing's just as likely to take out an ally as it is us in such a small space. What compelled Zarlak to bring it in here?"

"I don't know, but it does give me an idea." Namine replied, frowning at where Rai was busy dodging two dragons on the other side of the room. Following her gaze, a sly smirk crossed Jake's face.

"Girl, I like the way you think." With the thunderous clanging of Spike coming in close behind him, Jake took off like a rocket, locking his sights firmly on the four headed nuisance.

Rai was not having a good time. It was taking every aerial maneuver and alteration to wind patterns that he knew just to stay alive. Diving to the right, avoiding a flamethrower, he almost immediately had to spin to the left to avoid a snapping mouth before coming to a sudden halt with a gasp as another set of fangs appeared right in front of his face.

"What do I look like, a chew toy?" Raimundo cried, dodging as two more heads came in for the attack and causing them to collide. As the four dragon released three simultaneous flamethrowers, he altered his flight path upward just enough to see the red reptile flying in his direction with the spiked ball right on his tail. Taking note of Jake's smirk, Rai quickly caught on and dug an item out of his pocket.

"Golden Finger!" He shouted, pointing the Shang Gong Wu right at the four headed dragon. The beast froze instantly with half raised eyebrows as the golden artifact glowed, leaving him defenseless. Jake altered his flight path a moment later, elevating up into the air and over the dragon seconds before Spike crashed into it. Snerrot and Rowce screamed as both of their large allies shot their way and followed Jake higher into the air, only to scream louder as pain exploded inside their heads. Namine watched happily, with one hand by her temple, from Jake's arms as the plummeted right down on the other dragon.

"Nice move Namine. That idea never crossed my mind." Jake said, staring down at her proudly.

"What about this part?" Raimundo grinned, pointing both of his open palms down at the overly large trio. Taking the hint, Jake smirked before taking a very deep breath. "Wudai Star Wind!" Jake released the biggest flamethrower as the destructive gales left Rai's hands. The wind dramatically increasing the fire's size and power, the flamethrower hit the ball and dragons as they tried to get up, resulting in a chorus of squeaky screams and a deep roar. As the attack ended, six Ratfinkles lay unconscious on the ground and a number of the ball's spikes had bent so much out of shape that it was stuck in one spot.

"Woo Hoo! Four down, two to go." Jake cheered excitedly.

"Ignoring the army the teachers won't be able to hold off much longer." Namine responded, sobering the dragon. "This is no time to celebrate. Even if the last two opponents in here were the end of it, they are by far the most powerful. We need to get back to work now."

Back on the ground, Gwen leapt from left to right, dodging fire, stray magic and careless tails as she approached Zarlak, Ubos forever by her side. It was a very difficult journey, and one she'd rather have postponed to help the struggling wizards as they scattered so as to dodge the rapid fire magic shots Zog had switched to, but he pulled on through.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shouted a very pained voice. Through the corner of her eye, she noticed the Rhino man charging right at her. Unperturbed, she barely slowed down at all and just raised her glowing hand. "Merchcus Veridactus!" A blue beam struck the creature, and with a hoarse scream, he flew back into a wall with a bang, denting in halfway through, and slumped to the ground.

It was when the squeaking screams of the dragons sounded that Gwen finally made it to her mark. Getting a sense of satisfaction at Zarlak's scowling face as he watched three of his greatest forces fell, she moved a little in the opposite direction of his vision and raised her hands.

"Terra Tremo Eradicko!"

The sound of an explosion caught Zarlak's ears not a second before large chunks of stone slammed into his back, knocking him painfully forward, only saving himself from an agonizing face plant by levitating at the last second. Righting himself, he whipped around to see what attacked him and roared in rage at the sight of scattered stone where his throne used to be.

"Who DARES attack me? SHOW YOURSELF YOU INSIGNIFICANT CHILD!"

"Show myself? I'm not exactly hiding." Gwen retorted smartly, relaxing her body so as to look as uncaring as possible in the sight of his rage.

"YOU? That's not possible. I drained your powers! You should be able to do anymore then levitate a feather." Zarlak scowled, his hands and staff glowing in his rage and disbelief.

"Then I guess the spell you used wasn't suitable for effectively stealing a sorceress' powers. You drained me pretty badly, but a full day of using my powers does the same thing and my body does restore my power levels eventually." Gwen responded nonchalantly before dropping into a battle stance, her own hands glowing as much as Zarlak's. "But enough with the pleasantries. Twista Combetitius!"

In an attempt to stop her from casting a spell he didn't know, Zarlak shot a powerful, green beam right at her chest. It proved ineffective however, as a giant, glowing snakelike creature appeared between them, blocking the blast without even the smallest sign of pain before shooting straight for the dark wizard. The creature's blow landed home and sent Zarlak flying painfully before disappearing, leaving Zarlak to catch himself in the air.

"A totem creature. Very impressive young sorceress. But it will take much more than that to stop me." He shouted, raising his staff. The orb glowed bigger and brighter than ever before and Gwen shivered at the overwhelming amount of power charging within it. "Now let me give you a taste of real power." With that, he aimed at Gwen and shot an immense blast right at her, the energy moving far too fast for her to dodge. Suddenly fill with terror, she flung her hands up again and drew upon all of her power.

"Vortress Nebulae!" A blue force field appeared around her mere seconds before the blast connected. Gwen groaned as the energy of the attack reflected in all directions, struggling desperately to keep the shield up against the assault. "Ubos, I can't keep this up."

"You must try my child. Stay strong and hope that the others can assist us." Ubos replied softly, trying to reassure her. He knew it wouldn't help much, but at least he could keep her focused on the task at hand.

The rest of the group wasn't doing much better. The Gwen and Ubos were temporarily safe behind the force field, but the reflected energy was streaking like lightning all around the room. The fight between Zog and the wizards had come to a halt as both sides jumped and screamed, barely dodging the blasts. It was no better in the air as the boys looped, dove and zigzagged, getting nowhere fast. Even the teachers were having difficulties, though they had also taken advantage of the situation, dropping their defenses and letting the dark creatures dumb enough to approach the opening to get struck by their own master's power.

"Oh man! One false move and we're toast." Jake cried, taking his wings in tightly as a blast shot by right where one used to be.

"I know! I can't even get the time to grab a Wu." Rai complained, twisting away from a blast as only an acrobat could.

"I'll try to stop it. Jake, I'll need a clear shot." Namine called, pulling out one of her daggers. Nodding, Jake altered his course and focused entirely on the blasts before him, getting as close to Zarlak as he could.

"Be ready Namine. You'll have two seconds, at best, when we're in alignment." He said, swooping low and banking right to dodge one blast and turning his body diagonally by ninety degrees to avoid another. Namine didn't respond verbally, she just tightened her grip on her weapon.

Finally getting a three second break, Rai thrust his hand into his pocket and ripped out an old necklace.

"Eye of Dashi, Wind!" Powerful, electrical gales burst from the gem, managing to neutralize the next shot coming his way. In addition, he was able to use the power flaring off of the main blast to weaken and redirect other bolts of dark magic, assisting Jake and the others.

Getting enough room to breathe, Cassie, Verne and Gus simultaneously turned to Zog and blasted her with raw magic from their hands, as none of them had the time to direct their wands and focus power through them. Seeing them coming, Zog effortlessly countered their magic, however, the distraction was all that was needed as another stray bolt bounced off of Gwen's force field and right at Zog's head.

"ARGH, ARGH, AARRRGGHH!" She screamed, her hair sticking up in all directions as she was thrown off her feet and out the doorway. The crash of glass breaking echoed throughout the room a moment later.

"Ouch, that has got to hurt." Gus commented before dodging another green blast.

"Forget her, look up there." Cassie cried, pointing up at Jake and Namine. "Quickly, give him cover." Nodding, the boys followed her lead raised their wands.

Jake was surprised, but very happy as the golden lightning cut off a number of the blasts coming his way and grew even happier as the blue beams hit the rest of them. One or two green blasts got through, but I was a simple task for him to avoid them, banking right here or rising there. Diving again, finally no more than ten feet away from Zarlak, he altered his body and brought Namine into perfect alignment with her target.

"Now girl!" Jake shouted, breathing fire at a stray, green blast. Namine didn't need to be told, as she had already stuck her arm out and thrown the dagger as hard as she could. The dagger soared like a purple arrow and struck true, right into the green orb.

"What? NO!" Zarlak cried, pulling his magic from the staff, desperate to break the connection. It proved to be hopeless however, as the rob exploded within a couple of seconds, blasting him right into and through the thick, stone wall and back outside, screaming all the way.

"Now that was nicely done." Ubos said proudly as a tired Gwen gave a relieved sigh and dropped her force field. "A great display of teamwork. Now, let's get out there and make it count."

"Right." The others chorused before rushing out the holes. Looking around the courtyard, they were delighted to see that the stray blasts seemed to have knocked all of Zarlak's minions back a fair distance from them and the teachers were working hard to keep the wounded beasts at bay.

"You know, Ubos and the Guardians can deal with Zarlak just fine from here on out. We should help the teachers." Verne stated, stopping in his tracks.

"But even with his staff made useless, Zarlak's still got all the power of the artifacts and Lucky Girl." Gus responded hesitantly, looking at where Zarlak was slowly rising.

"No, Verne's right. The Valour Guardians are more than powerful enough to deal with him. Let's help Miss Crystalgazer." Cassie responded, startling the boys. Neither of them thought that she of all people would ever step down from fighting Zarlak and proving herself to be as great as Gwen.

The purple haired witch did want to fight Zarlak. She wanted to prove herself to everyone. However, she had accepted that she wasn't ready to stand equally by the heroes' side yet and that her powers were needed elsewhere. And as surprising as it was, even to her, she was ok with that. Not waiting for the boys, she set off towards the army, her wand at the ready and her friends close behind.

Ubos and the Guardians watched on for a few seconds with pride at the future true heroes before turning back to the matter at hand. Taking off, Rai and Jake flew side by side at the recovered, enraged Supreme Wizard and shot their elemental blasts simultaneously at him. Zarlak raised his hand with a growl and created a shield, easily blocking the two columns as the boys, in perfect synchronization, flew around and launched a fist at Zarlak from either side of him, forcing him to fly back. Any hope he had of the duo crashing disappeared as they moved in perfect sink again Jake twisting in his direction and Raimundo landing gracefully on Jake's back and pulling out his purple blade, looking much like a dragon rider.

"Lucky Girl, let us do our part now. They won't be able to distract him for long." Ubos stated, moving before her. Lowering himself to down to her chest, he opened himself and flipped his pages to one titled 'To Return Magic'. "Place your hands on my pages and concentrate on returning all of the stolen magic within Zarlak."

Doing as he said, she placed her palms firmly on the paper. A moment later, golden energy shone from Ubos as Gwen's eyes and hands glowed blue right as they started chanting.

"_Let our magic now unite_

_To undo the evil within our sight_

_Magic__'__s gifts now gone, consumed by thee_

_Reverse the curse, set the magic free!__"_

The gold and blue magic mixed and shined brightly as they finished chanting and shot a beam straight at Zarlak with the speed of lightning. Distracted by chain made of gales, courtesy of Rai's blade, Zarlak failed to notice the beam until it struck him.

"AAHH! What is this?" He screamed in terror as the power dug effortlessly through him. Reaching the core of his powers, it found the stolen magic and it was at that moment Zarlak figured out what was happening. "NOOO!"

Beams of every colour of the rainbow shot out of every inch of Zarlak and scattered throughout the area, some flying towards the sky or the castle, while many more flew to and through the portal and other entrances to the centre of the Earth. A particular blue beam shot straight over the blue and gold on assaulting Zarlak and hit Gwen. The young sorceress sighed in relief as she felt her powers regaining the strength she'd lost in the fight and even surpassing her usual peak.

As the last of the stolen magic returned from whence it came and the spell ended, the heroes and teachers cheered with joy and the dark creatures grew nervous as the dome protecting them from the Wizards beyond fell. Zarlak wasn't looking much better, puffing and panting as his body tried to adjust to the sudden power drain.

"How is this… possible? How could you drain the power from ME?" He scowled, turning an infuriated glare at the two responsible.

"Combining different types of magic is potentially disastrous. However, when done correctly, the results have just as likely to be miraculous." Ubos said smugly before moving aside as Gwen's energy built up. "Now I believe you will Lucky Girl a much more worthy adversary."

Her whole body glowing, Gwen levitated herself into the air. Her hands shined like stars as she raised them, gathering and concentrating her magic.

"Interdamotor Elaborator!" The temperature around her hands shot up as a rippling beam of pure heat flew on its way straight towards Zarlak.


	7. Supreme Wizard Vs Valiant Sorceress

**Supreme Wizard Vs Valiant Sorceress**

Zarlak managed to put up a shield a mere second before the he was hit. However, not even his magic could prevent him from feeling more than a little hot under the collar and he frequently had to use magic to put out the flames bursting to life on his robes.

"Grr, you are becoming more annoying than the children and the entire resistance movement combined!" He growled as the heat blast finally faded, shooting a beam of his own from his hand.

"To me, that's a compliment." Gwen smirked, dodging effortlessly before her glowing hands directed jagged rocks from all around Zarlak to surge towards him. Zarlak rid himself of them with a simple wave of his hand before covering the area with a dark, greenish smoke, hiding within it.

"Oh please. Wind!" Rai scoffed, throwing his hand out carelessly in the smoke's general direction. The wind quickly blew it away, but before Zarlak had even been uncovered, Gwen had already struck him with an energy ball, using his own smoke cloud against him. As the last wisps disappeared, it was to reveal a groaning Zarlak hovering himself back to his feet.

"I will not be defeated. Dark forces, destroy them!" He ordered maliciously, pointing towards the Guardians. However, only one giant gnome and a cockroach monster came to his side.

"It'll take more than an overgrown lawn ornament to stop us." Jake taunted, dive bombing the gnome. Bringing his sharp claws before him, he spun his body, increasing his speed and power. Right before he hit the ground, he altered himself so his belly was in perfect alignment with the ground and shot straight through the gnome's chest. Cracks quickly appeared all over the mobile stone creature's body and it exploded, leaving only tiny dirt clods behind.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin about." The reptilian hero cheered, returning to the air.

Namine was just as quick with the magically mutated creature. Charging right at it, she ducked into an army roll as it tried to slash at her with four limbs before leaping back up and placing her glowing hand on its back. Her white energy quickly spread throughout its entire body and a moment later, with a flash of green under the white, the creature reverted to its original, harmless form.

"What is this? Where are my servants?" Zarlak scowled, watching the only soldiers to answer his call fall as he took into the air, avoiding a blast of fire from the sorceress.

"Just look over there." A cocky voice replied behind him. Before Zarlak could respond, a brutal kick landed on his back, followed by a powerful gale, blowing him away. Right into the direction of his minions.

Recovering in midflight, Zarlak looked up to see what the Xiaolin Dragon was talking about, only to gasp and growl at the sight before him. With the dome down, the forces sent by the Wizards High Council had immediately joined the teachers and his usual three pests in stopping his horde. To make matters worse, the other teachers and students seemed to have grown backbones as a moment later, the main doors of the castle burst open and they surged out, wands alight with blue, green, and yellow blasts heading right at his forces.

"Your forces are being taken down and those that are still standing won't get through the shots coming their way. You're cut off from them." Rai stated triumphantly. Whipping around, Zarlak glared bloody murder at the wind wielder and the sorceress floating behind him.

"But the two of you are right where I want you." He snarled, whipping his hands out. All at once, a dozen tentacles of pure, dark magic burst out towards them, forcing them back. However, before they could ensnare the young heroes, a flamethrower struck his chest, knocking him painfully back with a scream.

"Forget about me?" Jake asked, soaring right in front of the dark wizard. Before Zarlak could even respond, Jake circled around him and struck his back with his tail, shooting him off to the ground and away from his minions.

'_Guys, we have to finish this soon. I can sense many more dark minds approaching on the horizon.__'_ The three in the air immediately halted as Namine's voice echoed through their minds and shivered as she sent an image of what she'd sensed their way. It was more than enough to bring back the worry and fear they'd felt before.

"Guys, have Namine send a message to everyone on our side and have them help you get the dark creatures back near the portal. I'll hold Zarlak off until we're ready to finish our plan." Gwen ordered, getting nods from Jake and Rai. Jake immediately created a clone to give Namine the message while the original Jake and Raimundo took off and around the mass of dark creatures.

* * *

Lowering herself back to the ground, Gwen took off at a run towards the rising dark wizard, her hands already charging energy again.

"Tempestus!" Water rose from the plants, forming a giant mace before launching itself at Zarlak. In response, Zarlak merely raised his own glowing hand. A few seconds later, the water weapon was also glowing green and stopped in its place.

"The only thing impressive about this is the size." He drawled. "How about I show you something a little more advanced?" Twitching his fingers, he split the mace into twelve lances and turned them into ice before launching them right back at her.

Unperturbed, Gwen just raised her hands again.

"Vitalis Eruptum!" Vines shot out the ground like bullets, catching every lance before it could get halfway to her. They didn't there however, as they threw the lances right back to where they came from. Zarlak managed to blow them up, but the distraction was all that was needed for more vines to shoot up around his feet and wrap around him, constricting his movements.

"Gar! Do you really think such weak restraints can hold ME?" Zarlak roared, glowing all over and expelling the vines. But before he could do anything else, Gwen, who had taken all the time he'd fought with ice and plants to her advantage, closed the remaining distance between them and struck him with a flying kick, right in the gut. Winded, he fell back off his feet. Grabbing his arm mid fall, Gwen tossed him over her shoulder with a grunt, causing him to land with a loud thump next to the portal. Puffing slightly, Gwen watched his groaning form with a satisfied smile.

"To answer your question, no. but they were a great distraction, don't you think?"

* * *

On the other side of the battlefield, the battle couldn't be going better. The witches and wizards proved to be very affective in herding the dark army back towards the portal, not by skill in combat, but simply creating a barrage of magical blasts that the creatures couldn't weave forward through. They had quickly moved themselves from between the army and the portal at Namine's mental command and with Raimundo adding powerful gales to one side and Jake and his clone almost constantly breathing fire on the other, it was easy to make the cowards back up.

"Looks like Gwen's got him down. We should take this chance and finish this now." Rai called as the creatures reached the portal and started moving around it.

"You got it. Let's head skyward." The American Dragon agreed, absorbing his clone and shooting higher into the air, right above the centre of the portal with Rai close behind. "Give us the biggest dome of wind you've got bro."

Nodding, Rai took a deep breath as he raised both of his magical swords from his sides. "Xiaolin power! Wudai Star Wind! Sword of the Storm! Blade of the Nebula!" The three sources of power united and created an enormous dome of raging wind, surrounding all of Zarlak's forces, the dark wizard himself and Gwen, Namine and the closest wizards and witches, being Ubos' chosen children. Taking the biggest breath he could, Jake breathed the strongest flamethrower he had into the air currents and watched as the fire grew and spread throughout the entire dome.

Groaning with the effort needed to pull it off, Rai put all his concentration into compacting and shrinking the dome, eliciting terrified screams from the dark creatures closest to the edge as they ran and flew as fast as they could towards the centre.

"Gwen, we must hurry." Ubos stated, flying before her as Zarlak started pulling himself slowly to his feet again. "Zarlak will be able to stop us if we wait much longer."

"Besides that, Rai won't be able to hold up something this big for long and the dark cavalry is almost here." Namine agreed, running to her side.

"But I don't know if our combined power can still undo all of Zarlak's magic." Gwen said worriedly, turning back to Ubos. "This battle's weakened both of us, and there's so many of them."

"Then we'll help." The three turned to see Cassie running to their side, followed closely by Gus and Verne. "Ubos, show us the spell."

The look of pride couldn't have been greater on the book's face as he smiled at his young charges before doing as Cassie said. The three younger spell casters quickly pulled out their wands and had the glowing, pointing ends touching the book as Gwen did the same with her hand.

"_Ancient evil, get behenced_

_Only good can recompense_

_For the misdeeds in which you've done_

_Wizard return from which you come."_

Blue and gold magic exploded from the five of them again as they finished chanting, filling the entire area within the dome. But what was even more noticeable was that the portal had completely lost its greenish glow and was replaced by a dark blue and released a number of pulses.

"What? NO!" Zarlak screamed as the first pulse hit him, covering his entire being and pulling him back. "I will not be SENT BACK!" Struggling against it, his body started glowing with green magic and he managed to stabilize himself.

However, it made no difference as the pulses continued and found others touched with his dark magic, pulling them all towards and through the portal, screaming the whole way. On its way to the portal, an elephant man crashed into Zarlak, sending them tumbling back. The blow was more than enough to break Zarlak's concentration and the energy exuded from the portal quickly finished its job, pulling him towards and through.

"NNNNOOOOOO! I SHALL RETURN!" His scream echoed throughout the area, above the panicking cries of his minions as he disappeared in the blue energy, followed quickly by the rest of his forces. As the last of the dark army was suck away, the spell casters on the ground and the warrior in the sky were finally able to let their powers die down and fell to the ground in exhaustion and relief, Jake catching Rai as he fell and placing him gently on the ground.

"We did it. He's back where he belongs." Gwen said with tired relief.

"You all did incredibly well. I am beyond proud of all of you." Ubos said, smiling down at them all before yawning.

"Now there's only one more horrifying mission to deal with." Namine said softly, causing everyone to look at her warily.

"And what would that be?" Jake asked cautiously, his whole body tensing.

"The group of old, firm, business type wizards and witches that must be the Wizards High Council approaching us. Something tells me they are going to want answers to about a million questions. And I'm not even using my telepathy." The others all whipped their heads towards where Namine was looking and groaned loudly. She was right, a horde of wizards and witches with firm, no-nonsense looks on their faces was quickly approaching them.

"What a day." Rai groaned, rolling over and dropping his head face down in the ground. "An epic battle with the world's greatest dark wizard and his army and now the promise of an endless verbal assault from a bunch of stiffs in the wizards equivalent of business suits. Can't we just go and find another pair of multi-headed dragons instead?"


	8. Wrapping Things Up

**Wrapping Things Up**

"I never thought I'd miss Gramps screaming at me in Chinese for five minutes straight." Jake groaned, fiddling with his ear. The Wizard High Council had been quick to interrogate them on everything, from who they were, Zarlak's attack and the world's awareness of magic in general. Needless to say, they were less than impressed with the last topic. They were even planning to punish the teens before Miss Crystalgazer reminded them that they were from outside of the Wizarding world and that the council had no power over them that they reluctantly let it go.

"At least we don't have to worry about them again." Namine responded as they headed back out of the main doors. "They backed down the minute they heard Miss Crystalgazer mention the other communities that we're associated with. Half the magical community would turn on them in an instant, let alone the Z Fighters, Xiaolin monks and all of Danny and Kim's connections. They'd never be able to survive taking us on and they know it."

"Thank God for that." Raimundo sighed. "My to do list is big enough without time in a wizard's prison being added to it."

"Don't worry. Even without the fearful back-up, the council is pretty much all bark and no bite these days." Cassie's voice cut in, causing all four to turn to their right. There stood the witch in question, along with her friends and a particular, floating book.

"Hey there. Feeling better?" Gwen asked, smiling brightly at the trio.

"I could use a few z's, but other than that, we're all good." Gus replied, bringing his arms behind his head.

"So I guess with everything settled, you guys are leaving now?" Verne asked sadly, looking down at the ground.

"It's either that or risk another lecture from stiffs who should be lecturing us in the first place." Rai nodded, shivering at the thought.

"But don't worry, we have a feeling we'll be back." Gwen said with a grin, getting curious looks from the trio in response.

"Why's that? Are you planning to check up on us?" Cassie asked hesitantly. It was clear she wasn't sure how to take that.

"Of course we are." Jake smiled. "We have to keep an eye on three heroes in the making. Especially ones that show such a high level of potential."

"Really? You think we could be true heroes? Just like you?" Verne asked, his voice filled with hope and excitement.

"Of course." Namine nodded smiling warmly. "You've already proven yourselves to be selfless and courageous. Give yourselves a little more time and experience to further develop your skills powers and there's no telling how great a hero you'll become. With the right teacher of course." She added, turning her smile to Ubos.

"Hmhm. It was an honor to meet you young ones. You are all amazing people and I'm sure your allies are just as great. However, I sense even more potential in you too. I believe it will be interesting to see just how much you will have grown when next we meet."

"Don't be strangers ok?" Cassie said, holding out her hand to Gwen. "Everything else aside, I think, there's a few things I could learn from a true sorceress."

"And I'm sure that you can show me a thing or two too." Gwen responded happily, shaking the offered hand.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Jake cried, drawing everyone's attention as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Come on, where is… aha!" He cheered. Pulling his hands back out, he held up what looked like his communicator. However, this one was black and had a big, white H on the front. "Namine and I thought you should have this. Just in case you ever need us." He said as he handed it to Verne.

"I don't believe it. A VG communicator! This is so amazing." Verne said, shaking in excited.

"Good luck with Zarlak." Namine said softly before opening up a portal to the satellite. "Come on guys. We have a mission to report, a few new profiles to place in the archives and probably more than one worried Guardian to calm down thanks to our absence."

"Well then goodbye. Come back soon." Gus called as they headed towards the portal.

"Oh, trust me bro, we will." Rai replied, grinning slyly. "I overheard some guys saying that you're a comedian. We have got to exchange prank ideas." Gus could on;y return the grin as they waved goodbye and walked through the portal.

Things were definitely going to be different now for the magical trio. They no longer had to hide their magic from the Morties and their adventures had been exposed to the entire Wizarding community. It was definitely going to prove interesting for them. But they knew nothing would compare to their time with the Guardians. That is, until the day that they would stand by their side once again.

* * *

**AN:** Well, that was probably the lamest ending to any story I've ever written, but I just couldn't think of a good way to wrap it up, so I'll just ask you to forgive me. Again, thanks to the people who reviewed and/or put my story, or me, on their subscription list. I don't know when the next story will be started, but I promise that there will be one eventually. It'll be in **Ben Ten** again. Next up, **Valour Guardians 3: Blast To The Past**


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